Bittersweet Sickness
by BloodyLawlipop
Summary: Sora is L's detective partner and lover. Beyond Birthday has his eye on her and kidnaps her to get to L and finally beat him in this twisted game of wits. How far will L go to save the love of his life? How far will BB take this game? Violence and OC Sora
1. The Trap

Chapter One: The Trap

_Blood…I smell it…I can smell it on your hands…_

There was no escape, no backup plan, and most certainly no way she could outthink this deranged genius. Sora was finished. She had no tricks cleverly hidden up her sleeve anymore. No matter how fiercely she tried, he was always two, no, seven steps ahead of her. This was inevitable. She knew this psychopathic madman would trap her in his blood stained grip, but she had no idea he would catch her _this_ fast. She had planned it all out. Calculated and measured everything to the most diminutive detail and yet, here she was. Gasping for air and sprinting as fast as she could to escape the maniacal laughter that seemed to follow right behind her.

_Blood…I smell it…I can smell it on your hands…_

Sora cut around the corner in front of her, mentally kicking herself, for she had just run into a dark and long alleyway, the adrenaline rushing though her veins preventing her to think clearly. She ran down the gruesome alleyway for fear of turning around and seeing his hysterical grin reaching from ear to ear.

"_Don't run Sora…you know that won't help you. I've caught you…it's as simple as that."_

She flinched, hearing his malicious laugh in her head, causing her to fall straight to the filthy floor. She tried to stand up, gripping the rotten walls with now shaking hands, crimson blood dripping from her multiple lacerations. When she stood up, she knew she was about to stare death straight in the face. She was cornered in a dead end, a single red street light flickering above her shaking body. She didn't know what to do….she was lost. Her mind started to wander, knowing there was nothing she could do. Gasping and ignoring the blood trailing down her face, she waited for him.

_One…two…three…four…_

She waited there, her exhausted body shivering with fear. In an instant she heard footsteps, sharp and rhythmic at first, but then clumsy and offbeat. She knew it was him. This was the end. Her life would end here. All of her hard work, trying to catch this maniac and planning to punish him in the name of justice, was wasted. Sora had lost, and here was the consequence for losing. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see his slouched body or his face filled with malice when he would end her life.

_One…two…three….four…_

It was silent. The battered girl no longer heard the clumsy footsteps. She didn't hear anything except for a little meow from a black alley cat.

"_Is….is he gone? Have I won?" _Sora thought in her head, immediately expelling a sigh of relief. Relaxing a bit, she slowly fluttered her eyes open, only to see a petrifying sight before her.

"Hello again my chocolate haired girl."

He towered above her wearing a monstrous smile filled with brilliantly white sharp teeth His midnight black hair barely covering his crimson bloodshot eyes that pierced through her own terrified look. He let out a bone shattering laugh as he saw her trying to struggle free from his skinny blood stained hand that grabbed her weak cut up wrist. Sora stared in shock as she witnessed the tortured genius swiftly drag a knife up her arm. She couldn't scream or move at all. She was paralyzed with fear. He laughed once again when he saw her shocked expression.

"Now don't be scared my little Sora. I have no intentions to harm you." he said with a false voice of comfort as he cut a thin line across her neck. Sora flinched at the coldness of the knife, causing the knife to dig into her shoulder. She tried to force out a scream, but was quickly muffles by his skeletal pale hand.

"No no no my little Sora. We shall not have any of that here." He snickered, removing the blood stained knife and tracing his tongue across the center, leaving trail of Sora's fresh blood on his tongue. Sora tried to scream again, repulsed at the sight. This time, the bloodthirsty madman growled angrily, sending chills down her spine with his blood red eyes.

"Well apparently little Sora was not listening to me. She will have to be punished now for being disobedient."

With a final laugh, Sora suddenly stopped all her struggling. Her eyes started to feel heavy as lead. Her small frame started to slump against his grasp. The last thing her eyes managed to see before her onyx-grey eyes closed into the darkness were his bloodshot crimson eyes glaring at her and a victorious smirk plastered on his blood stained pale face.


	2. Music Box

_Hey all! So welcome to my new story! I had actually written this about a year ago, but I just never got around to posting it. However, I like it too much to not share with you guys, so here you go! Please enjoy and review! - BloodyLawlipop_

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Chapter Two: Music Box

Sora was awoken by a peculiar sound. She opened her tired eyes to see a red and black music box on a broken rusty table playing an unfamiliar felt horrible. She had a massive headache and her whole body felt like a sandbag. She had a sharp and fierce pain running along her left arm, her left shoulder, and her pale neck. She slowly sat up on a black bed she had never seen before and looked around an almost empty dark room. Sora could not see anything except the small music box. She didn't know where she was or how she got there. The only things that were in the room were some lit candles, a broken glass mirror, the bed she was on, and an old beat up Victorian-styled wardrobe. It was all very eerie, especially with the seemingly never ending music box that played alone.

"Where am I?" she asked herself, staring blankly at the music box. As she reached to close the box, she felt a cold and heavy object constrict her wrist. She looked down horrified to see a chain binding her and attaching itself to the bedpost. She struggled wildly to escape, but was stopped by the searing pain in her arm.

"Ah! Location is such an unimportant matter these days." said a male voice. The voice sent shivers down Sora's fragile frame. Sora looked across the room to see a body reclined against the black wall. The body looked almost dead. It was ghostly pale, awfully thin with jet black messy hair. The head of the body looked up and smiled maliciously at Sora. He wore a plain black long-sleeved shirt and faded blue jeans. He had crimson colored eyes with dark circles under them.

Sora gasped in shock, the gasp straining against her neck wound. He looked just like L. Her sweet L Lawliet who was most likely searching for her restlessly after her disappearance.

"Who are you?" she asked astonished at the resemblance between this criminally insane genius and her lover.

"Sora..." the man whined, "You don't remember me? How sad, but that is expected. Amnesia is a side affect of the drug."

"Why am I here?" Sora asked, completely oblivious to the man stalking quietly towards her.

"You are here because I want you to be here…with me, and you are quite the valuable asset." he whispered huskily into her ear playing with a strand of her dark brown hair.

Sora shrieked, remembering everything about this man. She remembered his name, what happened the night before, and just exactly how dangerous this man was.

"Beyond Birthday!" Sora whispered, quickly scooting back from the man that was now crouched on the satin bed.

"A splendid job my little Sora. Oh and just call Beyond." He looked at her oddly, with a small smirk portrayed on his pale small lips.

"You sick maniac! What do you want with me? Are you going to kill me?" Sora screamed. Her head started to hurt and she felt dizzy. She suddenly couldn't stop herself from slumping down into the soft, dark black sheets.

"Now why would I think of killing _you_ Sora. There is no fun in that." Beyond said as he sat next to Sora. He started to stroke her face softly. "Do you feel ill Sora? You look rather pale." he asked, a worried look replacing his previously malicious one.

"You….psychopath…..don't touch…..me." Sora said softly. She was feeling so dizzy now she couldn't speak properly.

"You need to sleep my little Sora. Do not worry. When you wake up, I will be right here." he whispered softly as his pale fingers traced the now forming scar across her neck and her arm. Sora tried to stay awake, fearing the worst being next to Beyond Birthday, the World's most dangerous and gruesome serial killer. She simply could not stay awake. She closed her onyx-grey eyes and everything went black.


	3. Beauty of the Reaper

Chapter Three: The Beauty of the Reaper

When Sora woke up she found herself wearing a thin black satin nightgown. To her relief, Beyond had released her from the chain. She sat up and looked around aimlessly, spotting the small music box playing its haunting melody. She rubbed her sore wrists to try and take away a bit of the pain that was found there. When she reached out, yet again, to stop the eerie music from playing, something caught her arm. She jumped up and saw Beyond firmly holding her thin scarred arm. He was wearing nothing but his faded jeans which seemed to be stained with dark red blood. He turned to look at Sora.

"Oh good. You're awake." Beyond smiled.

"B-Beyond! What do you think you are doing!" she shouted loudly, slightly distracted by the fact his pale torso was seemingly free of imperfections except for a pale scar plastered under his chest. It had a distinct shape, but Sora couldn't tell what it was.

Beyond smirked, "Oh Sora you are so cute when you're angry." He chuckled softly, slightly pulling Sora closer.

"T-there's blood on your jeans!" she screamed, immediately repulsed.

"Don't worry Sora. It is not my own blood." Beyond smiled maniacally.

Sora looked from his smile to her own body, checking for any new scars he could have given her. Nothing. Beyond chuckled as she checked herself for wounds. After seeing she had not acquired any new wounds, she glared angrily back at the smirking criminal.

"You filthy murderer! Who's blood is that?" Beyond just shrugged casually.

"Just some guy's." he hopped on the satin bed to get closer to the angered and disgusted Sora. The way he said it reminded Sora of how people read off grocery lists.

"Don't get any closer! You psychopath!" Sora shouted furiously, trying to pull away from the now very close man, but to no avail. Her wrist was caught in his firm grasp. Beyond just laughed at her weak struggling. Suddenly, he pulled her wrist, causing her to fall forwards and land right on his naked chest. Beyond heard her gasp and just pushed her against him.

"Aw…Sora." he whispered, almost seductively. "I love it when you get angry. It's so passionate." he teased. Sora just tried to push against him, but she was so weak. His strong hold didn't even budge. Beyond then placed his hand across her woundless shoulder. Sora gasped when she felt a cold metallic substance on her.

"Beyond…"

"What?" Beyond said innocently. Sora could almost feel his smirk take over his pale face.

"What do you have in your hands? What are you hiding?"

"mmmm…nothing." Beyond said playfully.

"Let me go and show me right now!" Sora ordered firmly. Beyond sighed and replaced his hands with chains, chaining Sora once again completely to the bed post. He then showed his skeletal hands. They were covered in crimson metallic blood that was still fresh.

Sora stared in utter shock. Beyond noticed her looked and laughed softly. "Like the color?" he said without any trace of remorse.

"You psycho! You deserve to be dead! I refuse to die until I have you imprisoned! I'll kill you!" Sora shouted in hysterics, trying to thrash against his embrace. She couldn't believe it. How could this criminally insane man take a human life so bluntly? The thought disgusted her to the very core of her being. She wanted to see him dead. She wanted him to suffer for all the lives he took so carelessly. She wanted him to pay. She wanted _his_ blood to be shed, not the blood of innocent beings.

Beyond let her go and forcefully pushed her back on the bed. Her head hit the metal bedpost with strong force. She winced as the pain shot to her head. She reached her scarred hand up to massage the spot her head made contact with the post, buy Beyond snatched it vigorously and held it back.

Beyond has a look of sheer anger is his blood crazed eyes. His whole body tensed up. "I don't think you are in ANY position to make threats Sora. I could leave you here to rot but I'm not going to, after all I told you I wasn't going to kill you and you aren't much good to me if you are dead." he snapped angrily at Sora, tightening his already strong grip on her slender wrist, causing her to wince in pain. He tightened up the chains that bound her so she was unable to move a muscle. He crawled onto the bed and sat next to the paralyzed Sora, stroking her long and choppy dark brown hair. Sora felt sick at the thought that the blood on Beyond's hands were getting in her hair.

Beyond seemed to relax a little, releasing the tension in his body as well as his face. He let out an exasperated sigh and looked calmly into Sora's onyx-gray eyes.

"You know Sora. Blood is actually quite a mysterious beauty." he said. His voice was strangely sweet and almost poetic and his gaze seemed innocent and pure. Sora only stared blankly, thrown off by this rare side of kindness Beyond was displaying, but she knew that Beyond Birthday was anything but sweet. He was a bloody psycho who laughed at the pain of others and found pleasure in killing and torturing his victims.

"What?" Sora said, shocked and sickened by his words.

"I love blood. The beautiful and mesmerizing bright, ruby red that it is when it is fresh. Almost like a rose. Then when it dries it turns dark, like the color of the best red Italian wine. What's even more hypnotizing about it is that everybody has it, but it is like a hidden treasure, like to Roman sculptures and ruins buried deep under the earth. It should be taken out and have its breathtaking beauty shared with the world., like the works of fine art that people travel all over the world for and dream of seeing in art galleries." He smiled sweetly, staring lovingly at the blood on his hands.

"You make murder sound romantic." Sora said sickened but astonished by Beyond's statement.

"Maybe it is depending on the way you look at it." Beyond whispered in Sora's ear and started to trace his fingers along her clean arm, leaving long red smears from the blood on his hands. He had a surprisingly soft touch for a serial killer. It was strange.

Seeing Sora follow the pattern of blood he was leaving on her arm, he silently scooted closer and whispered in her ear.

"Well how do you look at it Sora? "he said huskily. Sora was brought back from her trance and looked at his blood red eyes. He looked at her intently, as if he was trying to send her a message through his eyes. Sora then tried to avert her gaze and her eyes fell upon the blood pattern on her arm. Beyond had drawn and Old English Style "B" on her arm. She then saw the scar under his chest. It was an Old English Style "B", matching the one on her arm. He looked at her eyes and smiled sweetly.

"Well?" he asked, waiting for Sora's answer.

"uh…I don't really know..." she stuttered, caught off guard by his gaze.

Beyond suddenly tightened his grip on her arm, smearing the "B" he had drawn. Sora shocked by the movement looked up at him. His eyes had gone from a sweet look to a look of pure anger and hatred. His body tensed up one again and he let out a blood churning laugh.

"Of course you know! How could you not know? Obviously you don't like blood! Its people like you and your beloved L Lawliet that stop the beauty of blood from being displayed to the world!" He spat out L's name. Sora was shocked and scared at the name. Did Beyond somehow know L? Did he know where he was? Now that she looked at it, it didn't seem like a complete coincidence that they looked almost exactly alike. She started to pull away from Beyond. Beyond grabbed the chain that bounded her and tightened it more so it cut deeply into her wrists. Sora screamed in pain, a single tear rolling from her onyx eyes.

Beyond looked disgusted at her, but then he laughed maniacally. "Oh! Did I strike a nerve with your precious Lawlipop?" he smiled evilly, sending chills down Sora's spine. "Well your precious Lawlipop was the one who did this to me! He caused me to suffer! I was put through Hell so that poor excuse of a human could live! It should be HIS blood on my hands! _He_ is the reason for everything!" She was now fully aware of what this man could do to her. He was much stronger than her, so fighting him off would be impossible. Beyond pulled the chains on her wrists so the cut even deeper, causing Sora to cry out in agony. Beyond just laughed louder and louder, sounding almost like a bloodthirsty hyena as he saw the rivers of blood stain her nightgown and run down her arms into the bed. Beyond placed his cold index finger into the pool of blood and licked his finger clean off. Sora screamed louder with disgust.

Beyond, tired of all her screaming, he released the chains from her bloody raw wrists. Sora writhed in pain and whimpered quietly and pressed herself as far ways as she could from the criminal whose eyes were now a fiery blood red. he just stood there watching her, fascinated by the look of horror in her eyes. Sora's blood shot eyes started to cry softly once again, not because of the raging pain in her wrists, but because she was thinking of her L. She was worried sick that this crazed man held such a strong hatred for the man that she loved. It made no sense. L would never aim to hurt anyone. Even when they had worked back at the Japanese Task Force Headquarters in the Kira case.

Sora's memories raced back to the day they captured Light Yagami, also known as Kira. When Light was scheduled to be executed, L insisted on watching, but he held onto Sora so tightly being obviously uncomfortable with witnessing Light's death. After that day, L was morbid for awhile. He looked so sad. Even his sweets couldn't cheer him up. That was when Sora had realized that L would always try to save the suspects responsible from death. She also realized that he had taken a liking towards her. She saw him looking at her constantly and always sat next to her at the meetings. When they were assigned the LABB Murder cases to work on, L named Sora to be his assistant. They grew strong together and eventually ended up falling in love. Sora thought of her L's sweet words and loving gaze. The way he held her hand, offered his cake, or even just smiled was enough to make Sora's heart ache. The love of her life could now be in mortal danger because she had been so careless to get caught by this…monster. She silently whispered his name. "Lawliet…Lawliet…please…be safe..."

Beyond smirked again and softly laughed. "Well let's see how long it will take Lawlipop to save his little Sora." He laughed once again, leaving the bleeding and crying Sora in the darkness.


	4. The Sorrow Sky's Angel

_Heyo~ Just a quick note about the chapter lengths. Not all of them will be the same length, obviously. Like some will be small, others REALLY long. Hope that won't be an issue..- BloodyLawlipop_

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Chapter Four: The Sorrow Sky's Angel

L looked at the video footage from the streetlight camera with complete horror. His usually calm and emotionless face was twisted in a face of pure agony. His whole body shook with fear. He simply stared at the monitors and watched as Sora ran into the alleyway. He watched her endure every cut she received, both from the glass on the floor and from the ones given to her by Beyond Birthday. L was paralyzed with fear. He couldn't move at all. He couldn't even breathe. He felt as if he even beat his heart, the agony would just rip him apart. His pale fingers hovered over the piece of cake he had been consuming, unable to move at all. He watched as Beyond grabbed Sora and cut her arm with the long knife. He saw Sora's pained and shocked expression. He saw Beyond's sick smile spread larger as Sora's blood ran to the floor. He saw the knife slowly trace across her exposed neck, and stab into her shoulder when she flinched away from Beyond. L couldn't do anything about it. He simply watched his lover get tortured by this sick creature. He saw Beyond laugh once and then Sora slump against the wall. Holding Sora up, Beyond smiled up and laughed directly up into the camera and the tape ended with a sharp click.

L was shaking, his heart pounding against his chest. He felt sick, he felt dead. L immediately jumped out of his chair and rushed to the bathroom. He stood in the middle looking at himself in the mirror shaking and sweating, and he suddenly collapsed and vomited. He felt horrible, as if part of him had been taken away. In a way it had. He got up, his white long sleeved shirt drenched with sweat. He began to shake again, thoughts racing in his head soon he became dizzy, and he vomited again. Then he simply passed out cold on the pure white bathroom floor.

When L woke up, he was surrounded by Watari, Near, Mello, and Matt all looking extremely frightened and worried to see their leader passed out on the floor covered in sweat and shaking. Even the emotionless Near looked like he was completely afraid for L. Watari had taken L up to his room and laid him down on his bed. Mello had gone to get some cold water for L while Near and Matt looked over the security tapes L had been watching. Now they were all in L's room with morbid looks on their faces.

"L...We'll find him." Matt said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

Mello kept looking at the screen, anger taking over. He growled at the monitors and in one swift movement, he pulled out his gun and shot the silver monitors repeatedly. Matt immediately rushed to his side to calm the raging blonde and prevent him from accidentally shooting anyone.

"Mello! Calm down!" Matt pleaded, sorrow hiding behind his orange goggles.

"Calm? CALM? How the HELL can you be so CALM Matt?" Mello screamed at the redhead, his icy blue eyes raging with hatred, "Did you not see what that sick bastard did to her?" he kicked the monitors repeatedly until he had relaxed a little. Mello ran out of the room yelling wildly, with a very worried Matt following behind. Near looked around the corner and saw Matt comforting Mello who looked like he was going to have an emotional breakdown. Matt removed his goggles and threw them down angrily. Matt's usually bright emerald eyes were usually sparkling. Right now, they looked dead and moist from his tears.

Near simply sat by L's side and watched him carefully. L had regained his emotionless mask, but inside he was broken. He couldn't move again. It hurt to breathe. He thought of the video again, and he became sick again. Near called Watari, not knowing what to do, and he went to watch the video to see if there were any clues to where Beyond could have taken Sora…or….what was left of her. Near winced, the sadness hitting him in the chest. He had to find Sora and kill Beyond. He had to…for L…for Matt and Mello…and for himself. Sora was the one who would visit them back when they were younger and lived at Whammy's. she seemed to be the only one to care for the orphans. She would often stay for days while other visitors stayed for minutes. He knew she and L were in love, but he loved her in his own way. He looked at her as a mother's complex, not ever having a real one. Matt and Mello on the other hand, well…..they loved her too, but they showed it in a different way. They would always harass her and L whenever they were together and they always made her life a living hell at the orphanage. Near knew they were always kidding thought. Sora would always bring them presents. She bought Mello his rosary that he always wore. One day she bought Matt his trademark orange goggles which he loved so much, and she had bought Near one of his favorite robots. He thought of how upset Mello was right now. He had seen the toughest person he knew have an almost mental breakdown. He had seen Matt's emerald eyes fog up under his goggles from some tears he had expelled. A single tear rolled its way down his soft cheek and landed on the albino's sleeve.

That night, L couldn't sleep. He never did anyway. He would usually look through the security tapes of the case he was working on, but that was simply out of the question. Watari had gotten new monitors to replace the ones Mello had shot about fifty times, but L couldn't watch the tapes. Whenever he even thought about Sora and Beyond, his whole body would shake and his chest would rip open again. He hated himself. All this time he was spending doing nothing but breaking and self destructing he could be spending hunting down his once "to-be-successor". The thought sickened him, causing him to shake and sweat again. He was stuck in a vicious cycle, and if he didn't escape, Sora would die.

The next morning, L discovered Near had been up all night furiously typing details he noticed from the tapes. By his deduction, L knew that Near had been up for about 18.53 hours. The raven haired man noticed the small fragile boy sleeping silently in his chair. L smiled, and took Near up to his own pure white room. He then heard small beeping noises from the next room. He poked his head in and saw Matt sprawled out on the couch sleeping and lazily holding a videogame that was still turned on. Mello was on the bed sleeping heavily surrounded by chocolate wrappers. He went to go turn off the videogame when he spotted something. When he walked over to the gamer's desk with multiple electronics and hacking systems, he saw a picture. The picture included Matt, Mello, Near, and himself. They were all in the park apparently celebrating that they were the top three successors at Whammy's. L was about to walk away when he saw himself in the picture. He was sitting down with a piece of cake that was being shared by…..Sora. L froze, his heart hurting again. He picked up the picture and stared at it intently. The five of them were like a family. His hand clutched the frame and a tear fell onto the crystal frame. L was crying. The emotionless man was crying. He curled up into the wall and clutched the picture to his breaking heart, as if he put the picture there it would fix everything and Sora would be back by his side.

"Sora…" he whispered in between tears. "Where are you?...Please. Tell me…I'll find you…j-just…" Suddenly he stopped; his eyes wide.

L ran down to the room with all the monitors and watched the security tape at least fifty times, clutching the picture to his chest. He had caught onto something. He studied every detail. He memorized everything. The whole alleyway and every piece of debris that was there, how Beyond had slouched and walked. He even memorized all the cuts that he had given Sora. _His_ Sora. L glanced down at the picture once again, his heart aching as his hands began to shake with anger as an image of Beyond popped into his head.


	5. Nightmare of the Reaper

Chapter Five: Nightmare of the Reaper

Sora woke up gasping for air, dazed, and hurt. Her head felt like it had been set on fire from the inside and her raw bloody wrists looked like a rabid dog had chewed them up. She was shaking, not from the chills the room seemed to give off, but because she had finally woken up from a terrifying dream that seemed all-too-realistic. She curled up in a protective ball and rocked back and forth like a child, wishing she had someone to cling onto for comfort. There was no one who could comfort her though. The closest thing she had to any human contact was Beyond Birthday, the deranged maniac who had her bleeding, broken, and trapped in the first place. Her whole body shook when she remembered even a fragment of the dream.

_The sun painted the afternoon sky with a brilliant display of orange and red and she was heading back to headquarters. Sora passed various shops and she came across one filled with sweets and cake, a small piece of heaven for any small child…and her lover. It reminded her of her sweet L working non-stop back at headquarters, demanding Watari around for more sweets. She giggled, thinking about how wide L's eyes would be if she showed up with cake. She walked into the store looking at the different sections and picked out the cake, filled with a custard mousse and topped with a big ripe strawberry. She could pretty much see L licking his lips lavishly at the sight of the strawberry_

_She soon left with her purchase and found she was now running late. She looked at her cell phone and frowned at the time. "Hmm…I'm so late. Maybe I could take a little shortcut." Sora smiles and decided to cut through the little park. The sun was begging to set and all she could hear were the birds, the sound of her own light steps, and another pair of feet stomping behind her, following her every move._

"_Following? No I'm being ridiculous." She thought casually Man, all those scary movies were really catching up to her._

_She decided to turn her head ever so slightly and she could see a dark figure somewhat significantly taller than herself behind her now matching her every step. Sora faced forward and quickened her step, the figure behind her matching her every step, then accelerated. Sora took a deep breath and made a sharp turn she was certain would lead her to headquarters. Something was not right. Sora began jogging and the figure jogged too, and then running. Sora's heart jumped into her throat and she exploded into a full sprint. She weaved in and out of trees trying to lose the figurer who was gaining on her. Sora started panic now certain that this man had a purpose and she did not want to find out what it was. L had warned her about all those crazy rapists and abductors, she just chose not to listen. Sora suddenly felt a yank at one of her ankles and she felt her body slam into the ground, the box that held Ryuuzaki's cake flew and crashed into the ground spilling its contents messily. _

_Sora jerked her head back to see what she had tripped on and she saw that it had been the figure's hand that grasped her ankle, something glistening in his other hand. Sora screamed in surprise and with her other leg she smashed into the other's covered face, making the man release his grip on her ankle. Sora sprang up and ran from the sight at breathtaking speed, fear setting in threatening the back of her mind. Her eyes widened at the sight of the hotel entrance where headquarters was being held this time, her heartbeat raced with hope. There was a crashing sound behind her, and she knew exactly what it was, begging her legs to go faster. The ground gave in under her and she fell down into a steep slope until her body crashed into the chain fence, the barbed wire bobbled above her. Her back stung with the sudden impact, her lungs burning with her constant forced breathing. She grabbed more of the fence, pulling herself up as a crashing sound came behind her and she tried to climb up the fence. She was then torn from the fence and thrown against a tree, her vision jarred with the impact to the back of her skull. The pain continued as a blow was sent right into her left temple, knocking her unconscious._

Sora winced at the memory of her nightmare, fresh tears streaming down her face. Her head hurt exactly where she had hit the tree and her temple hurt where she had been hit. It was all too realistic for a simple nightmare.

_The blinding pain in her head woke Sora up. She found herself bound to a chair, she couldn't move her limbs. Panic was setting in again. She decided that she would calm down and she became aware of her surroundings. She noticed the room was cold, damp, windowless, and ahead of her was a bolted door. Where was she?_

_The door opened and an evil laughter rang through the room. "You poor pathetic weak little creature!" the voice sounded so familiar, but she couldn't place it._

"_Who are you? Where am I?" Sora demanded, but the person took no notice of her questions, pretending not to notice. _

_Sora watched her captor with high suspicions. Suddenly the man walked over and slammed his fist into Sora's face; the force of the blow rocked the chair. Little spots danced in the edges of Sora's vision. She cursed and shot a look of pure hatred at the man who stood above him, laughing like a child with a new toy._

"_WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" Sora screamed, trying to hide the panic in her voice. Another blow through her chin, the chair scooting back and rocked on its legs before it fell backward. She crashed her head on the floor, letting out a low groan before passing out again._

"_No you don't you pathetic woman." There was a sharp blow to her stomach as he faceless tormentor's foot collided with Sora's ribs, the searing pain hot through her chest and back. Sora let out a low groan as she doubled over as much as she could, hearing plenty of her own ribs crack painfully. The man grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her back up. Sora could feel tufts of hair giving in and blood trickling down her brow and her face contorted in agony, gritting her teeth. The shadowed man whipped out a knife and Sora froze as soon as she saw the glint. Cold fear and realization crept into her face, this only seemed to excite her attacker more when he slashed it downs Sora's chest, cutting the fabric and leaving a fairly deep gash down her torso. Sora let out a howl of terror and pain when sudden cold hands whipped across her face, muffling the screams. The man cut the binds on her legs and arms, releasing her from the chair. Sora took the opportunity to attack and forced her tormentor against the door. A beam of light shown on the man's face and Sora's eyes grew wide, cold sweat mixed with blood on her brow. She felt something cold poke her stomach and Sora saw the gun. She backed off and put her hands up without needing to be told._

"_Good girl. That's a good pet. Now up against the wall!" he forcefully kicked her in the back, causing Sora to press against the wall. Sora's eyes held fear and confusion, her eyes fixed on the twisted smile of her tormentor. _

"_Turn around." he hissed and Sora reluctantly turned around. She heard the chair being kicked to the side and she put her hands on the wall, cringing at the sound. The man grabbed Sora's mangled shirt and pushed her against the wall._

"_Let's play a game…you keep your hands on the wall and I won't kill you!" the man laughed maniacally. "But if you wish to die, then by all means take your hands off the walls."_

_Sora gripped the walls so hard her knuckles turned white. "How do I get out of here alive?" Sora thought. She heard a crack behind her and the man was breaking apart the chair. Sora stole a glance at the evil man and was rewarded with a blade thrown at her, centimeters from her nose. Sora yelped and turned her face back and gripped the cold stone._

"_You should not have tried to look." He brought one of the broken splintered chair legs down on Sora's back, her legs buckled under her and she fell to the floor. Her hands were still on the wall as blow after blow came down on her bare skin. Deep violet bruises and splintered cuts played across her back, tears streaked through the blood, dirt, and sweat of her pale face. She tried to stand up, only to be kicked down again._

"_Turn around..." said the tormentor cruelly, his voice laced with danger. Sora weakly turned around so she was face to face with the gleaming knife, stained with her ruby blood. The man grabbed her face and tore a deep long line down the right side of her face. Sora screamed in agony, making the man laugh with pleasure. Sora shot a glare at the man, a beam of light hitting his face. Sora froze in place._

_It was Beyond Birthday._

_He took the stained knife from her face and looked her dead in her onyx eyes with his bloodshot red ones, tracing his tongue along the knife, savoring her sweet blood._

Sora's body was shaking furiously, her hands firmly grasping the black wall in front of her. It was all too realistic. She traced her cold shaking hand down her face, tracing where Beyond had cut her. Nothing. She wrapped her hand around her back, pressing and feeling for any bruises and cuts. Nothing.

Her fragile frame looked dead, her face paler than usual. Her onyx-gray eyes were tear stained and lost. She shook frantically again. She was so scared. She wanted L. She wanted Beyond dead for doing this to her. She wanted to get out of here.


	6. The Reaper's Past

_A/N: This was probably one of my favorite chapters to write. I don't know why torture scenes are so fun~_

Chapter Six: The Reaper's Past

Beyond stared at Sora through one of the monitors in his room. He chuckled slightly, looking at her frightened face and broken body. He licked his fingers thoroughly, removing all traces of the strawberry jam he loved to consume. He licked the jar clean, eating it with nothing but his pale fingers. He carelessly threw the empty jar behind him, and jumped a little when he realized the jar had hit a poor little mouse. Beyond stepped out of his chair and skulked slowly towards the trapped mouse. He cocked his head to the side, looking at the struggling creature intently. Slowly, he picked up the frantic creature and studied it. The mouse was covered in jam and blood. He poked the mouse slightly with a long finger. He noticed how fragile the mouse was, how every little movement Beyond made would make the mouse squeak with pain.

He chuckled again, placing the mouse in an empty jar. He watched the mouse frantically run around the jar, looking for any means of escape. Beyond laughed, but then mentally kicked himself. How could he find pleasure in trapping a useless little mouse? He glared into the jar evilly, and threw the jar against the wall with extreme force, his smile spreading wider with every shard of glass that hit the floor. He then met his gaze with the nearly dead mouse on the floor, twitching and squealing with pain. Beyond glared at it, annoyed with the high-pitched noises. He then growled, his red eyes filled with anger, and he kicked the poor mouse to the side, the blow of his foot instantly killing the mouse. Beyond watched the mouse hit the wall, laughing silently. He went to sit back down until he heard another little squeak.

Beyond turned around with disgust as he saw a slightly bigger mouse scurry across the floor and look at the dead mouse. Beyond stood still, wondering what this mouse would do. The bigger mouse took one look at the dead one, and started to squeak frantically, running around the dead one. Beyond laughed, realizing that the dead mouse had probably been this mouse's mate. Beyond turned back to the monitors, until something caught his attention. The frantic mouse had stopped running and was curled up next to his dead mate, squeaking quietly.

Beyond's gaze looked astonished. He simply looked at the poor mouse, grieving for his dead mate. A smirk spread across the maniac's face as an idea fell into his head. He turned back swiftly to the monitors, laughing furiously as he quickly typed on the keyboard.

Sora's glance sharply looked up as she saw Beyond enter the room, the smirk still plastered on his face. Sora looked at him suspiciously.

"Good morning my little Sora!" he smiled at her sweetly, the smile making him look younger. "How are you feeling today?"

Sora glared at him, not buying his act for one second. "I'm fine…" she hissed, annoyed with this man's complete obliviousness to her physical state. She was dirty and cut up for God's sake! How was she supposed to feel?

"Well I'm glad my little Sora is okay." he looked coolly into her suspicious glare." Oh Sora! Don't look at me like that! I only game here to play a game with you! That's all!" he laughed lightly.

Sora kept staring at him, thoughts running through her mind. "A game? What kind of game did you have in mind?" she eyed him, looking for any signs of danger. She saw none.

"Oh just a little game…" he shrugged casually. "It's Truth or Dare Sora…..don't need to be so defensive..." he looked at her smugly.

"What are you hiding? You cannot possibly expect me to think you just want to play a simple game." Sora backed up further into the wall as Beyond hopped on the bed, crawling towards her.

"Like I said before Sora, this is nothing but a simple game. You can ask me first if you want, but if you say dare and you refuse to do the dare, and then you will have to be punished." He looked up into her eyes, a seemingly innocent look plastered on his face. He flicked out a knife and looked at her.

"Okay then…Beyond…truth or dare?" Sora asked eyeing the knife he was twirling in between his fingers.

"Hmmm….truth." he said casually.

"Why am I here?" Sora asked him, looking for any traces of anger in his seemingly expressionless face.

"I told you already. I want you here with me." He said plainly. "Ok…Sora truth or dare?"

Sora was scared of what he would have her do to herself if she said dare…or what she would have him do to him. "Truth." She studied his face. Beyond didn't seem to react. He simply stared at the knife lightly held between his fingers.

"Hmm…..let me think…oh! Sora? Have you ever killed another human being?" his eyes looked up and an innocent smile was plastered on his face. She was sickened with his question.

"No Beyond. I have never taken another human life." She scoffed at him, feeling offended that he may have thought she would actually be that barbaric.

"Well that's a shame. It really isn't as bad as you think." Beyond's smile spread wider, sending a chill down Sora's body. She tried to ignore the comment and just played along with his little game.

"Okay. Beyond Birthday, truth or dare?"

Beyond kept staring at the knife, his deranged mind wandering off. "Truth."

Sora thought about her question. She knew exactly what she wanted to ask him. "How do you know about L?" Beyond dropped the knife and looked at her with serious eyes.

"I was created to be his successor." He stared intently. Sora looked confused. Weren't Near, Mello, and Matt L's top three successors?

"When Whammy's was first founded, I was one of the first two children taken in to be L's successors. Since A and I were the first two, we were always pressured to be the best." He picked up the knife from the bed, eyeing it curiously. "Even though I was raised to think that being L's 'backup' was a good thing, I hated it." He cringed at the word "backup", his eyes showing a glimmer of hate. "We were viewed as nothing more that replacements. A was brainwashed to think that his sole purpose in life was to be L's successor, but I had been a troublesome child, always resisting what was said to me.." Sora listened intently, wondering what could have caused him to be like this.

"One day, A just couldn't take the pressure. He ended up hanging himself." Beyond looked at the knife, tightening his grip on the handle. His face was covered by his messy jet black hair. Sora saw him tense up. She scooted back a little, fearing another one of his fits of anger and rage.

"After A died, all the pressure was put on me. I went through Hell and back trying to be a decent successor so I wouldn't be punished. I put up with it because of him. It was all because of L." his tense posture loosened up and he simply collapsed on the bed, curling up into a ball.

Sora couldn't bare it. She knew he was going through so much pain remembering everything. She yearned so badly to touch him, give him some kind of comforting gesture, but she stopped herself. She remembered this was the same man who had her bound to a bed with cuts and torn up wrists.

"One day I just snapped." He said, his gaze looking straight into the blade of the knife. "I saw L walking down the hall, surrounded by all these children. They treated him like a god. It made me sick." He looked up at Sora, pure hatred flowing through his crimson eyes. "I was walking away when he looked into my eyes. He looked so bored with everything, as if he was used to being waited on hand and foot. I just snapped." He started to shake, a deep growl escaping his pale lips.

"I attacked him. I couldn't help it. He made me sick! I tried to claw his throat out, tear his hair out, anything to make him realized he was making my life a living hell!" Beyond jumped up from the bed, shaking furiously. His skeletal fingers grasped the knife so hard his knuckles turned white.

"One of the adults caught me before I caused any harm. I was locked up for two weeks in a dark room with only one meal a day. One day, the same teacher who had stopped me came into the room, holding a leash. He was going to let me walk around the kitchen so I could pick out some sort of dessert. Apparently I had behaved well." He cringed at the thought of the leash. "We walked to the kitchen and I grabbed a jar of strawberry jam. The man looked at me oddly, as if I were an animal. I hated him." He went back to Sora and laid on the bed, looking up to the pitch black ceiling. "He told me I was 'nothing but backup. You were created to be L's successor. That's all I could ever be'. I hated him…I snapped and I killed him right then and there." A sick smile had plastered his face.

Sora gasped. She had not expected that. "B-but how?"

Beyond looked at her, his eyes lost in thought. Sora realized he was remembering how he had killed the man, a sick smirk plastered on his face.

_Beyond stood above the man who was curled up on the floor screaming in pure agony, his face beaten, broken, and bloody. Beyond laughed and looked at the floor next to the man. Teeth were scattered on the floor along with splatters of blood. The small boy looked at the teapot he had in his hand. It was dented and covered in blood. The raven-haired boy giggled at the sight of the blood. The color was so pretty…_

_So very pretty…_

_The man screamed for what seemed like an eternity. Beyond started to get annoyed, his demonic eyes rolling to the sight of the man. The boy looked at the battered teapot clenched in his hand and a sadistic smile spread across his face. He cackled as he poured the boiling hot water down the man's throat, watching the man's eyes grow so wide it looked as if they would jump out of their sockets. Beyond smirked at that mental image. It didn't sound so bad actually._

_The man's screaming turned into hoarse weak gasps of air, his throat being completely burned. The giggling boy took out a couple of knives from the drawer and stabbed them right into the man's humerus, immobilizing the man. Beyond stood up and admired his creation. He smiled at the bloody, beaten, burned mess. He heard people running down the hall. They would be here any second. The boy was slightly annoyed that he wouldn't get to see the horrified faces of the teachers when they looked upon his masterpiece. Beyond took another knife and simply slit the man's throat. He watched as the blood coated his thin arms, the blood getting in his jet-black hair. After the man had died, he quickly carved and Old English Styled "B" into his dead chest. Beyond stood back and heard the quickened footsteps accelerating. He admired his work once again, and he climbed out the kitchen window, the blood mixed with strawberry jam staining the walls and his fingers. The young murderer ran as fast as he could, the adrenaline running though his veins. He stopped for a second to hear the bloodcurdling screams of the teachers who had discovered that dammed man's mangled body. Beyond kept running, laughing maniacally with pleasure._

Sora couldn't believe what he had just told her. She shook with complete fear. _You psychopath!_ She thought in her head, her eyes wide with disgust and terror. Beyond simply tilted his head and smiled at her.

Sora was deathly afraid of what this man could do to L. something clicked in her head.

"You….want me here…..to get to L…" she whispered in disbelief, shock running through her fragile frame.

"Hmm? Oh yes…very good Sora! You caught on quite quickly!" Beyond laughed, his eyes filled with insanity.

"Beyond I swear if you lay a finger on L I will-"Beyond clasped his cold pale hands against her threatening lips.

"Now Sora if you keep talking I will have no choice but to silence you." He chuckled evilly, flashing the knife in front of her gaze. Sora froze, obeying his orders.

"Now since you figured it all out with your smart little brain," he lightly tapped her head with the dull end of the knife, causing Sora to flinch. "I'm going to give you a little reward!" he smiled playfully.


	7. The Reaper's Surprise

Chapter Seven: The Reaper's Surprise

He chained her wrists again, ignoring the fact that his harsh pulls broke the newly forming scabs, causing Sora to whimper in pain as her fresh blood ran down her hands, coating the dried up blood.

Beyond looked at her fingers which were covered in her blood and licked his lips, eyeing the red liquid hungrily.

"Do you mind?" he asked simply, his emotionless mask covering the smile he wore inside. Before Sora could process what he had asked, he held up her arm and stuck out his tongue, trailing up her bloody arm. Sora froze, knowing that if she moved, he would most likely hurt her more.

Beyond lapped up at the blood hungrily, getting the crimson blood all over his lips and some on his face, staining his pale flawless face. He pulled back, giving Sora a satisfied look. Sora stared disbelievingly. Had he really just done that?

"Mmm…Sora tastes quite delicious..." he licked his lips, making a slurping sound. Sora couldn't yell or move to protest. She was frozen with disgust.

Beyond pulled on the chains, pulling Sora off the bed and onto the cold hard floor. Her legs buckled under the weight. She had been in bed for about a week, her legs not being used at all, well except for bathroom breaks.

Beyond then blindfolded her, not wanting her to see a way for her escape. He pulled her through the seemingly large building, taking the occasional sharp turns that made Sora stumble. Sora knew he was just leading her in circles to confuse her sense of direction. I wasn't like she was planning an escape anytime soon. Sora was too afraid of what would happen to her if this psychopath caught her escaping. She shuddered at the though.

Beyond finally stopped and opened a very rusty old metallic door, pulling Sora in and closing the door behind her, locking the door with several deadbolts.

Sora knew that they were in some sort of room with a television of something of that nature, the white and blue lights hitting her onyx-grey eyes through the black blindfold.

Beyond fastened the chains to a hook on the ceiling, causing Sora's raw wrists to be cut up more. She was trying to stand up perfectly straight, if she slouched even a little bit, the chains would cut into her wrists.

She felt Beyond walk around for awhile, typing some things on some sort of keyboard. Sora heard a click and she heard Beyond mumble something. It was about fifteen minutes before she felt Beyond silently walk behind her, slowly laughing to himself as the blindfold slipped of Sora's face, her eyes squinting from the bright monitor light. She glanced back at Beyond, only to see that he was wearing a white mask stained with blood. She flinched away from his face being uncomfortably close to hers. She saw him turn to the monitors and smile widely at them. Only then did she realize he was smiling at a camera. Sora turned to the camera and then to the monitors. Sora gasped sharply at what she saw.

Sora was faced to the monitor to see a very shocked and scared Matt looking back at her, tears slowly forming in his emerald eyes hidden by his bright orange goggles.

"S-Sora..?" Matt whispered in shock, his whole body frozen in place. The tears now streaming down his face.

"Matt!" Sora screamed excitedly. She started to breathe sharply, excited to see one of her closest friends. She immediately stopped when she saw his tense frame and the tears fall off of his chin.

"Hello Mail. Is Lawliet there?" Beyond smirked evilly. Matt just stood completely

still only to be quickly joined by Mello. Mello's icy blue eyes quickly saw Sora and his whole face was contorted with anger and sorrow.

"SORA!" Mello screamed, his face red with fury. "Sora! Say something!"

"Mello! Mello Mello!" Sora called his name over and over again, her whole body straining against the chains. She winced when the cuffs cut against her wrist deeper and deeper. The boys saw the blood streak down her arms in horror.

"Sora! Oh my God I'm so happy you're alive! Get the Hell away from that psycho! Sora!"

Beyond simply kept laughing at the scene unfolding in front of him. He simply pulled the chain harder, causing Sora's arms to lift higher above her head and the cuffs to cut deeper. Sora screamed in pain. The teenage boys the screen only stared in horror.

"SORA! GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER YOU SICK BASTARD!" Mello screamed into the monitor, crystal tears streaming angrily from his piercing blue eyes filled with hate. Matt's fists were clenched so tightly, his nails had cut into the palm of his hand, his face contorting with anger. He was typing furiously on the keyboard.

"Now Mihael there is no need for such language. If one of you would simply would go fetch Lawliet everything would go smoothly." He looked straight into the camera angrily, is blood red eyes glaring through the mask.

Sora kept staring at the boys on the screen, tears of happiness streaming down her blood stained face. She heard Beyond laugh happily, seeing the pain in the teenager's faces. Mello then sharply stood up and ran back furiously, leaving Matt typing away furiously.

Mello came back not five seconds later gasping for air and being followed by a very worried looking Near. The petite boy took one look at Sora and his whole emotionless face formed into a face of sadness and sorrow.

"Sora…" he whispered almost too quietly for Sora to hear.

"Near! Near its okay! I'm okay don't worry honey I'm fine!" as soon as she said that, Beyond laughed quietly and flashed a knife in front of the monitor, almost teasingly. The boys' eyes widened with fear. About ten seconds later, another figure appeared on the screen.

It was L.

"L! L!" Sora cried hysterically. It was her L! "Oh L! I'm okay love don't worry! Oh L!" she didn't know what to say. She was so happy to see him.

Beyond laughed evilly, his laugh making Sora flinch.

"S-Sora…." L said weakly, his famously-expressionless face was paralyzed with fear. His dark eyes were wide with horror and shock at the sight of his lover bleeding, broken, and so close to the deadliest serial killer he has had to deal with. Sora saw the dark circles under his eyes had grown more prominent. _Oh L... He probably hasn't slept this whole time I've been gone..._ Sora hated herself for doing this to him. She started to cry harder now, causing L's chest to hurt painfully with sorrow.

Beyond sighed, obviously bored. He didn't ask to see Lawlipop just so he could cry his emotionless heart out. Beyond then started to laugh, silently at first, but then he exploded into a fit of laughter. The chilling laugh caused Sora to shake violently. L simply stared in horror at the sight of Beyond.

The blood-crazed man laughed harder. "Well Lawliet if I knew that Sora had _this_ much of an effect on you, I would have taken her much sooner." He laughed harder, watching L trying to regain his hard exterior. Sora gasped at the sight. L's face was tense, his jaw line looked to tight Sora thought it would break through his pale skin. His cold eyes pierced a look directly at Beyond. Sora had never seen L this angry before. She was a little scared of him.

"Let. Her. Go." L spat out every word as if it were laced with poison, the anger and hatred radiating from him. Beyond simply laughed harder, pulling the chains around Sora's wrists painfully hard. Sora let out a bloodcurdling scream, her eyes wide open with agony and pain. Beyond started to shake with excitement. He hadn't had this much fun in years. He had managed to break L in a matter of seconds. The adrenaline rushed through his body, his blood red pupils dilating.

"Silly L! Why would you think I would let her go? We've just gotten to know each other!" he took off his mask, revealing his crazed smile and insanity-ridden eyes, causing the younger boys on the monitor to shake with fear. They had never seen such a scary man before. L simply glared harder, studying and following Beyond's every move.

"Beyond if you threaten her life in any way I will personally hunt you down and kill you myself." The tone in L's voice was dangerous and acidic.

Beyond chuckled. "Now why would I want to kill her…..yet?" he smirked, "Little Sora and I have actually gotten _quite close_." He led a pale hand up Sora's body. Sora froze in fear, closing her eyes so that she wouldn't see the maniac's nightmarish gaze. Beyond hissed, annoyed with Sora not looking at him. He swiftly flicked the knife across her leg, the pain causing Sora to open her eyes. Beyond took the opportunity and he cupped Sora's face with his blood stained hand, pulling her face inches from his own. Sora whimpered with fear, Beyond's eyes filled with excitement and a hint of lust. Beyond pointed the knife at Sora's neck. Sora screamed at the contact with the cold metal.

"BEYOND! STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING RIGHT NOW!" L shouted, enraged at what this man was doing to his lover.

"hmm?...oh...do what?" Beyond fixed his innocent looking eyes on the monitor. His innocent look was instantly replaced with the crazed look of insanity. He smirked and his red eyed beamed. "You don't want me to do…._this?_" He lead the knife from the left side of her neck all the way to the top of Sora's hips, ripping the fabric of her dress. Sora let out a howl of agony, her faced twisted in pain and terror. She stole a look at the monitor. L's face radiated hatred, anger, and…..murder. He looked like he was going to crawl through the monitor and kill Beyond with his own hands.

Beyond cocked his head to the side, listening intently at Sora's beautiful screams. He saw the anger radiating from L. He lowered his body so that his face was right next to where the wound ended at the top of her hips. He stuck out his tongue teasingly and chuckled at L. L was shaking furiously, his hands covered in blood. He had clenched his fist so hard, trails of his crimson wine were running down his arm, staining his long white sleeved shirt.

"Hmmm…" Beyond sighed. "I wonder is she tastes as good as I think she does?" with that, he flicked his tongue out again, trailing up the side of Sora's shaking body. She screamed with pain as Beyond dug his nails into her sides. L was screaming now, shouting at Watari to trace the video and find out where this sick bastard was. About halfway up, Beyond forced his teeth into Sora's side, breaking the skin and leaving a raw mark. Sora shouted hoarsely, her throat raw from all the screaming. She looked down at Beyond, meeting his blood red eyes that seemed to be clouded with lust and excitement. He licked all the way up the wound, collecting every drop of blood he had spilled from her body.

Beyond stood up and grabbed Sora's face, looking deep into her eyes. He simply looked back at the monitor to see an enraged L, shouting orders at everyone who happened to be around him. Beyond laughed maniacally at the sight, doubling over and holding his sides. His red eyes were tearing at how hard he was laughing. He inhaled sharply, "Oh L! You sure do know how to make a game interesting!" He held Sora's face and kissed her roughly, Sora's eyes widened in shock and horror. She tried to scream, but Beyond's animalistic kiss was muffling her screams. Sora tried to back up from Beyond's kiss, but whenever she did, the cuffs would cut deeper into her wrists. The cuts were already deep enough that they would occasionally rub up against the bone. Sora cried frantically, her whole world falling apart.

L saw Sora crying her eyes out and he saw the deranged genius kiss her ravenously, the blood that had been on his mouth rubbing and smudging Sora's horrified face. There were no words to describe just how infuriated L was. He let out a bloodcurdling yell, his head thrashing around and yelling orders. His sleeves were stained with his blood and his shirt was drenched with sweat. Beyond broke the kiss sharply and laughed at Sora's expression. He looked at the camera and licked his lips teasingly, only adding to the fury in L's eyes. Sora looked at her lover through tear stained eyes, silently whispering "L…..I'm sorry…please….forgive me…I'm sorry….L…I love you…" the blood from her restrained wrists was now trickling down her face, mixing with the tears.

Beyond simply smirked, "Come find us L. We'll be waiting, but feel free to take your time. There's no need to rush Lawlipop, you know she's in _excellent_ care." He whispered huskily into the monitor, pulling the horrified Sora closer to his blood stained body. L looked at Sora through loving and sorrow-filled eyes.

"Sora! I love y-"and the screen turned black.

Beyond smiled maliciously at Sora, looking away from the monitor. He placed the blindfold on her once again, her tears soaking through the material.

"You know Sora, I wasn't lying. You do taste good." He whispered silently in her ear, blowing on the cut on her neck. He released the chains from the hook and Sora slumped to the cold hard floor, cradling herself in a fragile ball. She felt dead, humiliated, and alone. She knew L would search endlessly for her, but he was so far away. She felt like dying, molding herself into the ground so she could just escape this hell. She wanted to wake up from this nightmare.

Beyond yanked painfully on the chains, irritated with her childish pose. He pulled again, but Sora didn't move at all. He knelt by her head, moving away her hair so he could see her face. He pulled up the blindfold so he could see her eyes. They were open, but they were dull and lifeless. Beyond looked worried. He touched her neck.

"_Well she still has a pulse…Maybe I may have overdone it a little."_

He swiftly picked her up in his arms as she slumped against his toned chest. He walked out of the room and kicked the door closed, making sure not to move Sora too much. He walked silently through the darkness of the building and finally reached her "room". He stood in the middle of the nearly empty room for awhile, occasionally looking down at Sora. He placed her gently on the bed and wrapped her with a white robe he had gotten from his room. He simply stared at her sleeping form for a long time, studying and memorizing every shape and curve on her petite body. His eyes stopped at all the scars he had given her. He frowned at the sight. 93% of those scars would heal perfectly in a short time with enough medical attention. He needed to leave a mark on her that would be permanent. He stalked out of the room, making sure to turn the music box on before he left.


	8. The Sky's Angry Angel

Chapter Eight: The Sky's Angry Angel

L was infuriated. His eyes were fixed on the monitor, staring in shock, horror, and rage. He watched as the sick man licked the crimson blood from the wound on his tormented lover's side. The agonizing look in Sora's onyx-grey eyes sent shocks down his rigged back. His fists were shaking and the palms of his pale hands were raw and drenched in blood, trailing up about mid- wrist. He wished so badly to be able to go into the monitor and bash the psychopath's skull into the rotting wall. He was yelling orders to anyone who got within a five meter radius of him to trace the location of the video call. When he whipped his head back to the screen, he saw Beyond firmly clasp Sora's face in his bloody hand and kiss her like a ravenous animal, tracing his tongue along her fragile lips that belonged to L and L alone. L could only stare and go on a violent rampage at the sight of this murderer push his sweet lover against him and devour her, coating her bloody face with her own fresh blood. Her eyes and body begged for L to make this sick man release her, and L could only watch. Beyond broke the kiss after what seemed to be an eternity and looked directly into the monitor, pulling Sora closer to his body. Beyond smirked teasingly at the enraged L on the other side of the monitor.

"_Come find us L. We'll be waiting, but feel free to take your time. There's no need to rush Lawlipop. You know she's in _excellent_ care." _Beyond whispered huskily, chuckling to himself and licking the blood off his lips.

L was on the brink of going insane with rage. As soon as he glanced over at Sora, his whole expression changed. She was saying something to him, whispering ever so softly with her pale lips.

"_L…..I'm sorry…please….forgive me…I'm sorry….L…I love you…"_

His heart seemed to stop working. His ingenious mind couldn't think of anything. She was….apologizing? What for? It wasn't like she _asked _for Beyond to torture her. It wasn't her fault he had used her to concoct some sort of sick plan to get back at him. L gazed lovingly at his lover, traces of sorrow mixing in his eyes. He yearned so much to just cross over the damn monitor and release her from Beyond's sick masochistic grasp. He wanted to embrace her and reassure her and kiss the pain away. He wanted to heal every single mark of harm Beyond placed on her fragile frame. He wanted her back. He needed her here….with him.

"Sora! I love y-" L screamed out in heart wrenching agony, only to realize that Beyond had the audacity to cut him off. L stared at the blank monitors excessively, all the rage in his body being replaced with grief and a feeling of heartbreak. Cold tears streamed down his pale face, trickling down his face and landing on his blood stained sleeves. He started to shake, his fists clenching even more. He shouted angrily and slammed his fist down onto the table, causing his blood to splatter on the monitors. He slumped onto the floor, clenching his jet black messy hair with bloody hands. For the first time in all of his life, L couldn't think straight. The emotions he always kept bottled up finally exploded and clouded his mind.

Near heard the commotion in the monitor room and lightly patted in, holding a clean shirt and a glass of water. He nearly had a heart attack at the sight of his bloody, tear stained, and shaking idol slumped on the floor. Near took one look at him and the tears started rolling down the albino's childlike face. He ran straight towards the broken man and embraced him, not being able to stand the sight of L in this state. L's eyes sprang open at the contact, noticing the small boys tight hold and shaking sobs. After what seemed like an eternity, Near stepped back and looked at L. L was just sitting there, eyeing the clean shirt. Near looked apologetically at the man and tossed him the shirt. He quickly walked out, only to crash into a sprinting Mello. Mello didn't even recognize he had knocked out the small boy. He was headed to the monitor room where L was. Near was quickly helped up by Matt, who only signaled the boy to follow him, and then ran off to chase Mello.

Mello sharply entered the monitor room, almost running into L, who was now wearing a clean shirt, but he looked dead and lost. Mello froze in place at the sight. His ice blue eyes were locked on the older man's face. Mello had never seen l like this in his entire life. Not even when Watari forgot to restock his sweets supply that one time. Matt and Near soon entered the room. Matt saw Mello's paralyzed posture and L's cadaverous body standing in the room. The thought almost brought Matt to tears.

"L-L…We've…found her." Matt choked out, his eyes locked on L's face.

L's eyes widened and his eyes had a small glow that sparked with intensity. His heart painfully but slowly started to fill with adrenaline. The hunt was on.

The young men were startled at the sudden change in L, but they all had smiles plastered on their faces. Even Near had a small sweet smile spread across his lips.

This was their edge, their drug, their addiction. When they knew who the suspect was and where he was, the final moments sent electric chills down the young men's spines.

"Where is Sora's location Matt?" L's gaze stayed emotionless, but inside he was just yearning to hunt down Beyond and kill him with his own two hands.

"Yellow Box Warehouse. That place has been abandoned for about fifteen years and has no current owner of the property." Matt looked at L cautiously, unaware of how L might react.

"Near. How many SWAT team members can we gather in twenty four hours?" L said, his gaze sliding towards the expressionless albino.

"I am not quite sure at the moment, but I know I can pull together a minimum of twenty-seven by that time." Near's expression was blank, his mind racing with thoughts. _What could he be planning? _

L walked quickly to Mello, capturing the blonde boy's cold gaze with his own. "Mello, I need you to supply those SWAT team members with the appropriate weaponry. I will also need you to place explosives around the warehouse." L's eyes flicked to each boy. "Are we all in agreement?" he said coolly.

The three orphans exchanged odd looks at each other. They simply nodded and L walked away.

Mello was the first to speak. "Uh….what's going on?"

Matt simply shrugged and went back to the monitor where the warehouse blueprints were. Mello was headed towards once of the computers before something clicked in his head. Mello turned around, his shoulders shaking slightly. Near eyed him curiously before the cold realization hit him.

"_Is Mello…..laughing?"_ the white haired boy glared at the blonde.

"Why is Mello laughing? Does he find this humorous?" Mello completely ignored the albino studying him and ran over to Matt excitedly, his eyes glowing with intensity.

"Heeeeeeey Matt!" Mello whispered playfully into Matt's ear, the redhead looking back absentmindedly at the excitable blonde.

"What."

"Guess what L has planned for that sick bastard!" his loud obnoxious voice causing Matt to twitch. He would usually be mad at the blonde for being so inconsiderate, but his words intrigued him.

"What Mello. What exactly is going on? Since you seem to know so much." He sighed. He really wanted to get back to work.

Before Mello could say anything, L showed up at the door. The boys looked up at him for any sort of guidance to what exactly was going on.

"Mello I can tell that you have most likely caught on to my plan. If that is the case, please make sure all three of you are ready to depart." He nodded at Mello.

Mello smirked back at and he let out a slight chuckle. "No problem! We'll be ready soon." he ran back to Matt and laughed. "Let's go Matt. Near, you too."

Matt and Near looked at Mello as if he had gone crazy. Before either of the teenage boys could question the other, Mello threw them each a fairly heavy box. Matt caught his with ease, but little Near caught his box only to be completely knocked down by the box's extremely heavy object. He quickly stood back up only to see the blonde Mafia member trying to suppress a laugh. The two boys opened the boxes only to see a dark tinted helmet, a bulky metallic suit, and a machine gun.

Before Matt of Near pulled out their new attire, Mello had already put on the suit and loaded up the gun. He stood there admiring the weapon. He took one look at his friends on the ground and grew impatient.

"Come on guys! We don't have all day! Get your lazy asses dressed!" he shouted angrily at the boys. Once Matt was suited up, he helped Near get into his armor. Near simply looked confused at the sight of the blonde chocolate addict smiling down at his gun. His cold blue eyes were gleaming with pride and intensity.

"Lets go Near." Matt pulled the fragile boy up, the redhead trying not to die of laughter at the sight of the small boy in the bulky metallic armor.

"Mello. What exactly are we going to do?" Near looked up at the blonde, his pale face emotionless as always.

"Stupid….we're going maniac hunting!" he laughed triumphantly and dragged the other boys down the hall with him.


	9. Hunt for the Reaper

Chapter Nine: Hunt for the Reaper

The three successors entered the crystalline elevator, their eyes occasionally flicking towards each other. Near was quite nervous. He had never actually gone on a direct chase for someone. He always sent someone to do the "hunting" as Mello so graciously put it. He was not in the least used to this, let alone holding a fully loaded gun. He glanced at the older buys beside him. Mello was radiating excitement, his whole body tense and his blood laced with adrenaline. Matt simply looked calm and collected except for the small smirk easily identified under the tinted helmet. Hunting criminals down were the older boys' fixation. The pure feeling of being this close to the final encounter with the enemy was enough to make them fall over the edge. Near couldn't comprehend why exactly they loved it so much, but he wasn't going to question either of them. Especially not when they both carried fully loaded machine guns.

The two trigger-happy boys and the nervous albino reached the roof of the large skyscraper. They walked over to Watari. The old man simply looked at them and lead them to a small room. In the room, the boys saw about fifty three SWAT team members, fully loaded with a variety of deadly weapons. Mello took one glance at the corner of the room and he laughed excitedly. He glided over to the corner, excitement and love gleaming in his shielded eyes.

"She's….beautiful…" he said, his voice soft and loving. He traced his hand along the sniper rifle, feeling every minute detail his hands could come across. Near stared at him wide eyed, convinced the blond had gone crazy. Matt let out a soft chuckle and leaned on the wall opposite the blond. He pulled out his prized DS and the room was filled with small electronic noises and all sorts of high pitched clicks. Near simply followed and sat down next to Matt. He eyed all of the SWAT team members and all of the deadly machinery.

A dark figure skulked into the room, his identity hidden by the dark helmet. He stood in the front of the room carefully studying everything he saw.

"Matt, Mello, and Near. Please step forward." The dark figure murmured loud enough so the boys could hear. The boys eyed the figure closely, trying to identify the face behind the helmet. The stepped forward, Mello gave out a small whimper and let the sniper go. They stood next to the dark figure awkwardly.

The shadowed figure began to speak. "As you are all well aware, I am L." The figure took off his helmet and the boys stood in awe. L shook out his hair and slouched in his characteristic way. The men in the room began to whisper to each other. The boys stood there awkwardly. This was the first time they had seen L dressed in anything other than his jeans and white shirt. It was quite weird.

"The man we are after is Beyond Birthday. He is a mass serial killer and extremely dangerous. He is also abnormally intelligent. He has kidnapped one of our comrades and is now holding her captive and torturing her." He winched at the mention of the torture, but he regained his emotionless complexion. "We believe he is holding her in the Yellow Box warehouse near Excalibur wharf. One of my assistance here has already placed multiple explosives around the building. You will report to him for orders and any other questions you may have about the procedure." He signaled Mello to remove his helmet. Mello complied and flipped out his hair. The SWAT team members stared disbelievingly. Were they really going to take orders from a seventeen year old kid? Mello smirked at the men, his eyes beaming with pride. He pulled put a chocolate bar from his armor and took a bite. "Mello, please go over the plan."

"Okay guys…here's the deal." He spoke loudly making sure his voice sounded dangerous and angry. The men stared in shock. For a seventeen year old kid he was pretty frightening. "I have set up a lot of explosives around the building so if the occasion arises, we will obviously blow that building to the ground." He smirked happily. "If you have any questions regarding the layout of the place or pretty much how we are gonna attack this place, ask Matt." He signaled the redhead to remove his helmet. The gamer removed his helmet to reveal bright emerald eyes under orange tinted goggles. He shook out his russet hair and smirked proudly at the men. The men were astonished. This boy couldn't be older than nineteen. They were taking orders from punk kinds! "Matt please show the layout of the warehouse on the monitor." Matt nodded and began to hook up multiple routers. When it was all hooked up, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"The basic structure is a single large room, although we believe that since it was abandoned fifteen years ago it has most likely been altered by Beyond. Squad A will do through the first door, Squad B will enter through the second door, and so on and so on…eventually all the Squads will be in the building aligned the perimeter. Squads A through M will be given orders to search the interior of the building. Now I ask that everyone wear these hyper-sensitive microphones and earpieces. If you wish to contact another Squad, simply identify which Squad into the microphone and they will be contacted. Any questions?" he blew his smoke into the air and smirked at the astonished men. "Okay good. Now my colleague will instruct you on how to approach Beyond when we find him." Near took off his helmet to expose a head of ivory hair.

Now the men had just about enough of all these kids. "Ok if are supposed to take orders from this kid I'm gonna be pissed. He looks like he's twelve! Barely fifteen maybe!" one of the men whispered hoarsely to another, both nodding in agreement. Near noticed this and spoke up, unusually loud and strong for him.

"Gentlemen. I am aware that you are becoming quite uncomfortable with the fact of taking orders from us so-called "kids" but believe me we are much more intelligent than you think we are. We are all well trained in what we do and we have no problem with it. So please keep your judgments to yourselves for the sake of this mission." He stared emotionlessly into the crowd, the men immediately quit talking and looked forward, avoiding Near's hard onyx gaze.

"Now Beyond Birthday is mo doubt one of the most dangerous men I have encountered besides the well-known Kira, who was captured and killed by the nineteen year old kid, the seventeen year old kid, and myself who is the fifteen year old kid." He glanced at the men. They were in complete awe and regretted judging these "kids". Near looked proudly at Matt and Mello, earning nods of approval.

"After searching through the security tapes of when he captured…the victim," he stopped talking and looked at L. He didn't react at all. "I came across the fact that Beyond has straight forward and close-contact attacks. Long distance attacks are simply not at his disposal, however we have the upper hand. I am highly certain that we are well equipped to execute long distance attacks. I do, however, ask you men not to aim to kill the target, but to just immobilize his ability to move any further. Once the target is acquired, please contact either L, Mello, Matt, or myself." He looked into the crowd and back to L. thankfully, his expressionless complex was very in-tact. "Any questions?"

A single SWAT team member raised his hand shyly. Near quickly glanced at the man, immediately recognizing him. His name was Touta Matsuda. This shy and cheery man was the one who actually shot light Yagami, or Kira, to death. He was quite skilled with guns. Near signaled Mello and Matt to look at Matsuda, all three of them smiling warmly to him. Matsuda waved happily, but then shrunk into his seat as the surrounding members stared at him.

"Ah Matsuda! It's been a while since we last saw each other!" Matt piped up happily, excited to see his videogame partner again. "What's your question?"

Matsuda shuffled awkwardly in his chair, but then spoke up nervously. "Um…well….don't get mad but… what if we don't manage to save the…victim?" he looked quickly at the boys and then to L. L clenched his jaw and bite his thumb harder.

"Uh…well..." Matt stuttered a bit, not knowing what exactly to say. He looked at his comrades for any reassurance, but they both wore sorrowful looks. It was then that L stood up, his pale and prominent jaw clenched tightly.

"If we somehow, for whatever reason, fail in retrieving the target. We will have no option but to continue the hunt. The victim must be acquired at all costs." His frail body became to shake in the armor. "Besides the victim being a crucial part of the group that makes up my investigation team, she has personal importance." His midnight black eyes flamed with anger and a hint of sorrow. "She must be captured. I am willing to risk my own life to ensure that and I ask all of you to do the same." He looked at his young successors, smiles lightly painted on their faces. The men stirred in their seats, multiple whispers echoing in the room. Matsuda looked nervously around him and stood up cautiously.

"Well….what are we dong here still? Let's go retrieve the target!" he shouted enthusiastically, his bright eyes glancing at L and the successors. They all gave him smiles and nods of approval. The men simply nodded and sat up.

"Now that we are all in agreement, please look to Watari for your designated Squad helicopters. Make sure to recognize your Squad members and to attach the microphone and earpiece. So move it!" Mello shouted loudly at the crowd of men.

In a matter of minutes, all of the men were in their assigned helicopters. L, Mello, Matt, and Near were in their own Squads leading the men. Mello glared at Matsuda angrily. He was on Matt's squad for one, and he had been put in charge of the sniper. Matsuda noticed someone staring daggers at him and turned his head, only to be greeted by Mello's hateful glare. He jumped and turned around rapidly. Matt glanced over at the enraged blonde and laughed loudly. He picked up his microphone.

"Awww! Is Mells angry? Does he need a hug? Or would he rather have…this?" he playfully pulled out a chocolate bar from his armor, his eyes filled with mischief and a smirk clearly visible on his face. Mello's blue eyes widened at the sight. He immediately began to search through his own armor, only to find nothing. Matt laughed at the sight of the panic-stricken blonde. He waved the chocolate bar teasingly between his fingers.

"I hate you Matt! You better give that back or I swear I will personally place a bullet in every single one of you precious videogames!" he shouted angrily at the blonde. Matt simply unfolded the chocolate and took a small bite out of it, sending Mello over the edge. He flicked out his gun and expertly shot Matt's DS out of his other hand. Matsudsa stared in shock and fear, dodging behind the chair. Matt simply sighed and pulled out another DS exactly to the one Mello had just shot. He smirked back at the blonde and threw the bitten chocolate across the helicopters. Mello snatched it rapidly and glared coldly at the redhead. Matt simply laughed as the helicopter began to take off.

Near noticed Matt's Squad taking off. He installed his microphone and contacted L. "L. Matt's squad has just taken off. Over."

L looked out the window of his own helicopter, holding his gun tightly against his armor. "Roger. Instruct the others to take off as well." He signaled Watari to start the helicopters. Soon all of the squads were heading out. L glanced out the window, thoughts of Sora running through his head. He thought of how he would find her there, broken, cut up, and listless. The grasps on his gun tightened harder as his thoughts lead him to Beyond, a sick smile plastered on the criminal's face.

"_Sora…Don't worry love. I'm on my way."_ He closed his eyes as the helicopter flew off.


	10. The Reaper's Stage

Chapter Ten: The Reaper's Stage

Sora's eyes fluttered open to stare at the dark ceiling above her. Her sleepy body slumped forward and sat up in the black satin bed. Her onyx-grey eyes looked at her wrists. They were mangled and torn, but they looked as if they were healing. _Healing?_ Sora inspected her wrists and sure enough, the cuts were beginning to close up. As she continued to inspect her wrists, she saw she was wearing a white robe. She started to panic? Where was the black nightgown she had been wearing? Did Beyond take it? Her tired eyes widened as she thought of what he could have done to her. She started to whimper before she heard a loud thud coming from across the room. She gasped as the dark figure spoke loudly.

"Relax Sora. I didn't do _that_ to you. I simply replaced your clothing. I didn't want you to wear that dirty nightgown any longer." Beyond walked towards her slowly, his footsteps echoing in the empty room. He glanced over at the music box that seemed to play by itself. He picked it up in his cadaverous hands and sat on the bed besides Sora.

Sora stared at Beyond as he studied the music box carefully. His fingers lightly traced every detail as his blood red eyes took in every curve and color.

"Sora…Do you like this tune?" he looked up at her innocently.

"Uh…I guess. I didn't really notice it at first." she spoke shyly, his innocent face throwing her off.

"Well that's not important. Now how do you feel?" he placed the music box on the nightstand and picked up her wrists carefully.

Sora was frozen with the sudden kindness he was displaying. "I-I guess a little better." Her mind was telling her to keep her guard up. She had no idea what this lunatic was planning.

Beyond smirked and pulled her up quickly, making sure not to interfere with the healing in her wrists. He pressed her against his strong chest, his skeletal hands softly squeezing her. Sora gasped at the contact.

"I'm glad. Now be a good girl and stand still for me okay?' he winked at her, a playful smirk spread across his face. Sora's eyes flickered away. _"Okay…he is planning something. Did he seriously just wink at me?"_ Sora's mind began to spin with ideas of what Beyond was planning. Beyond laughed loudly, snapping Sora out of her thoughts.

"Don't worry Sora! I'm not going to torture you or anything. You are simply going to help me with a few things." He placed the blindfold on her face, caressing her face with his cold hands. Sora stammered back, remembering what had happened the last time he touched her like that. The memories of the rough animalistic kiss, the monitors, _L…_

Beyond's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't meant to startle her. He quickly drew his hands back. _Why did I just do that?_ His eyes flickered forward as he pulled Sora from her hands. He didn't place the handcuffs around her wrists, fearing that he may infect the wounds already present. He led her out of the room and through the multiple tunnels. Sora simply followed blindly.

After what seemed like an hour Beyond stopped abruptly. He walked behind Sora and removed the blindfold. Sora had absolutely no idea where she was, unlike the monitor room that had some glimmer of light, this place was completely dark. She could not even see her own hands in front of her. She felt Beyond walk away and with a sharp click, the room was flooded with light.

Sora's eyes seemed to burn with the sudden brightness of the room. Her feet collapsed under her as she covered her eyes with her hands. Beyond himself had placed dark tinted sunglasses on his eyes. He laughed at the sight before him, Sora on the floor being blinded by the light. He calmly walked over to her and cupped her face with his hands.

"Here. I don't want your pretty grey eyes going blind on me now." He said cheerfully as he placed matching glasses on her. He chuckled at the sight of the broken girl in front of him. Sora had simply stood still as he traced her face with his hands. She had every instinct to pull away, but she knew if she did that she would probably have more scars on her. When he pulled away, she reached forward and latched onto his shoulders. His body jerked at the contact and Sora froze. _What the hell did I do that for?_ She immediately pulled away but Beyond grabbed her.

"Sora…? What's wrong? Are you scared?" he chuckled slightly, leaning his face closer to hers and looked into her eyes with his crimson orbs.

Sora tried to pull away, but he held her closer to his pale frame. His sadistic smile was inches away from her horrified face. His midnight black bangs were now slightly brushing against her fear infested eyes. His cold breath lingered on her face, causing her to shiver with fear. He chuckled softly and placed his hand gently on her face. She gazed up into his rose red eyes that were filled with love and a hint of lust. She closed her eyes sharply to avoid his gaze. His loving looks were really starting to freak her out.

"Shh….It's okay. I wont hurt you." He whispered quietly, his voice laced with sarcasm and false care. He held her close, but she managed to step back and look at his face.

"W-where are we? Where did you bring me?" she still latched onto the bloodthirsty man, but she managed to step back.

"Don't worry Sora. I have a surprise for you, but you have to follow my instructions carefully." He let her go as she stumbled back and collapsed on the floor by his feet. She looked up at the man, a prominent smirk played across his face, his piercing red eyes looking at her playfully. He crouched in front of her and captured her gaze.

"Well the surprise is that you precious little Lawlipop is on his way here to rescue you!" he chirped with false happiness. Sora's eyes shot up filled with tears of joy. She started to laugh quietly, her body shaking with excitement,

"He's….L….Is coming here? To save me? To take me back?" she started to cry, tears of complete joy trickling down her face.

"Yeah he sure is! Don't get too excited though. I'm not giving you up that easily." He chuckled and caught the tears from her face on his index finger. "Now in approximately 18.9 hours, Lawlipop will probably arrive with a bunch of SWAT team members, multiple weapons, and his little successors. I already noticed that little choco-Mello has placed a large quantity of remote-triggered explosives around this place. I have already rewired all of them so they switch off to the command of my remote and not his." He flicked out a small black remote from his pocket and dangled it between his index finger and thumb.

"I have also rigged all of the possible entrance areas with multiple sensors that will go off with the slightest hint of movement." He tossed a piece of broken glass to what seemed to look like a large metal door. The glass clinked on the floor and activated the sensor. Suddenly, there was a sharp metallic sound and the door collapsed down, completely crushing the glass into powder. Sora screamed at the sound and dropped her gaze away from Beyond.

"Since I am feeling rather generous, I will let you see your precious Lawlipop and his little sidekicks," He stood up sloppily and grabbed Sora's hand. "but you have to play along in this little charade of mine okay?" he dimmed out the light just enough so that the room had a slight glimmer of light. He led her up a rusty set of stairs that looked as if they would give out any second. Sora quickly followed, not wanting Beyond to pull too hard on her hand. Beyond stopped abruptly and Sora stumbled into him. He turned around slowly, a sick smile taking over his face.

"Now put these on." He tossed her the blindfold casually. She caught it limply in her small hands and stared at Beyond, her eyes were listless and dull. Beyond frowned and flicked out his knife. "Don't test my patience Sora." She quickly put on the blindfold. He grabbed her hand and pressed her up against a wall, his hands holding her in place. She winced as her head hit the wall roughly. She heard Beyond's hands fumble around with some chains and restraints. She started to whimper, not wanting the handcuffs on her wrists.

Beyond chuckled quietly as he pushed her hair out of the way so her pale neck was exposed. He traced his hand along the scar on her neck. That scar was also healing. Beyond frowned at tied a restraint around her neck. Sora flinched as the cold metal hugged her neck. Beyond pulled the chain softly, but enough to make Sora to let out a small cough. He took the end of the chain link and clicked it onto a bar next to her head. He then held up her wrists softly and traced along the wounds. He stared oddly at the wound and let out a troubled sigh.

"Hmmm…I don't want to harm the wounds anymore…Oh! I know!" he happily dropped her wrists and he pulled out his knife. He pressed the knife gently on Sora's thigh, cutting a long piece of the robe. Sora gasped as her legs made contact with the cold air around her. She twitched her leg forward into the knife. She screamed as the knife cut across her thigh. Beyond simply stood up and cupped her face.

"Sora," he sighed. "stop trying to hurt yourself please. I'm pretty sure that's my job" his voice was monotone as he picked up her wrists again. He tied the white fabric around the wounds tightly and fastened the fabric to the chain in his hand. Beyond took the chain and clicked it onto a bar in front of Sora. He then bound her feet into a pair of handcuffs, securing them tightly.

"Hmm…Beautiful." He stood back and stared at the chained up Sora, his sadistic side taking the best of him. He walked up to her and cupped her face. His cold breath mixed with her own warm breath filled with fear. "Sora you have no idea how beautiful you look right now. It's driving me crazy." He leaned forward and placed his cold thin lips on her own. Sora froze with fear as her eyes widened behind the blindfold. Beyond let out an animalistic grunt as he deepened the harsh kiss. His hands went from her face down to her hips as he pulled her closer. Sora gasped when he pulled her. Beyond took this advantage and bit her lip harshly, drawing her blood. Beyond exhaled huskily as his mouth was filled with her blood. He broke the kiss sharply and licked at her lip, collecting all traced of her blood. He then flicked out his tongue and lapped up the blood from his stained lips.

"Oh Sora…look what you made me do. You drive me crazy." He whispered seductively into her ear. His ghostly breath danced on her neck, making her whole body shiver. He noticed the tears soaking through her blindfold and he brought his hands up to her forehead. He pulled off the blindfold to meet her moist eyes. His eyes stared blankly at her face and he wiped away her tears with the sleeve of his black shirt. He pulled her forward so she could see his creation.

"Look Sora. You'll have a full view of everything and everyone when your precious Lawlipop arrives." He leaned his back against the back of the balcony and stared at her.

Sora gasped at the sight that unfolded before her. She was almost hanging off the rusty balcony overlooking every entrance, wall, and stairway. She saw the eerie lights flickering above her, dimly illuminating the warehouse. They gave the place a dangerous aura unlike the blinding light bulbs they were when she saw them. The decaying walls were stained with blood, and a loud exhaust fan caused a dim amount of light to flicker through as the fan spun continuously. Her eyes met Beyond's red orbs sharply as he stood behind her and wrapped a pale arm around her torso. He simply chuckled and played with a strand of her hair. His breath lingered on the white cloth on her shoulder for a moment, causing Sora to shiver slightly. He let out a sharp exhale as he let her go and he began to walk away, slouched forward in his characteristic fashion. Sora's eyes opened wide and she made an attempt to follow him, only to be stopped by the multiple chains and binds he placed on her. Beyond stopped walking at the clinks of the chains and began to laugh quietly. His ghostly frame shook as a deep chuckle escaped his lips. Sora strained against the restraints, but to no avail.

"Beyond! Do not even think about leaving me here!" her voice shook at her weak attempt to sound somewhat strong. Beyond's silent laugh erupted into a sick menacing cackle that echoed through the dimmed room.

"Sora! Did you actually think I was going to chain you up oh-so-beautifully and then let you go?" he slumped forward and grabbed his sides as if he would explode due to laughter. "I told you that you're going to wait here for little Lawlipop to arrive. I'm using you as my little piece of bait." He glided down the creaking staircase without making a sound, almost as if he were a ghost. In a matter of seconds he was in the middle of the room, staring up at Sora, a sadistic smile spread wildly across his pale face. Sora screamed and shook her body wildly, trying to escape the chains and get out of the haunting room. Beyond simply turned his back on her, placed something on the floor, and shut the heavy metal door behind him, leaving Sora in a pitch black room.

Sora kept screaming and pulling away from the chains until her throat grew raw and her body was tired and moist with sweat. She heard a small but extremely recognizable sound coming from the small object that Beyond had placed delicately on the floor.

The sound was faint, but it echoed softly in the lightless room. Sora stayed still and listened intently to the sound.

It was Beyond's music box.


	11. Blood Stained Inferno

Chapter Eleven: Blood Stained Inferno

Sora slumped weakly against the restraints, listening to the music box for what seemed like hours, days even. She was exhausted from being in this standing position for an excessive amount of time. Her stomach growled at her ferociously. She had lost count of the minutes after the music box had replayed its tune for the three hundredth and eighty-second time. Her wrists burned against the fabric that bound them securely. Surely Beyond would come get her soon. He couldn't leave her here to rot and die…could he? Sora eyes were filled with panic and she writhed against the chains, at least trying to release the ones from her wrists. She screamed and growled in frustration.

"Dammit Beyond where the hell are you!" She screamed furiously into the darkness enveloping her. She clenched her teeth together to sustain a growl. When she heard nothing she continued to shout and move violently. She was going insane in the darkness, her breath breathing irregularly as her heartbeat accelerated. She gave a final pull and she heard a small tear from the fabric around her wrists. She stared up at her wrists even though she couldn't even see them due to the complete lack of light. She stared into the darkness, her eyes laced with excitement and a hint of insanity. She laughed quietly to herself, her ragged voice scratching her throat. She pulled her wrists down harder, ignoring the searing pain that was coursing down her wrists again. In a matter of minutes, Sora had managed to completely tear the now blood stained fabric and pull her raw wrists to her panting chest. She gasped as she traced a finger across her wrists. The healing skin that had been broken multiple times was now torn again, thick crimson blood soaking the fabric still bound around her wrists. Sora's eyes began to water, but she quickly regained her face and began to work on releasing the chain Beyond had placed around her neck. She had traced her hand around the chain looking for any indication of the lock until suddenly; she heard a loud crash against the metal door.

Sora screamed at the alarming sound and her eyes snapped up and shot towards the sound's source. She heard crashing and multiple metallic sounds against the door below and across her. She quickly put her wrists up to make it look like she was still bound. If Beyond had found out she broke through the restraints, she would have hell to pay. Her breath and heart seemed to stop altogether as she listened to the irregular sound on the opposite side of the door. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the sounds stopped.

Sora stayed perfectly still, trying to listen for any sounds of activity. With a startling bash the entire door came down to let in a dull beam of light. Sora's eyes had major difficulty adjusting, being tied in the dark for an eternity. When her grey eyes were clear, she gasped at the sight her eyes took in.

It was Matt.

Sora's eyes widened and tears of joy began to run down her face.

"Matt! Oh my God Matt! Matt, Matt, Matt!" she cried his name out helplessly. She immediately recognized him even though he was hiding behind his armor, his orange goggles comfortably hugging the helmet. Matt's head snapped up at the sound and he pointed his gun at the hidden Sora. The beam of light from the scope shone directly into her eyes. She flinched away, but kept calling his name.

"Sora!" He cried out loudly, his voice sounding demanding, sad, and excited at the same time. He stood still and quickly whispered something into his microphone. In a matter of minutes, the whole lower floor of the warehouse was infested with SWAT team members, and Matt was standing next to three hidden figures. The whole room was suddenly lit up with flares and Sora pinpointed a very teary-eyed Matsuda looking up at her, terror rocking his guarded figure.

"Matt!" Sora didn't know what to say. She was overwhelmed, shocked, and scared. Her rescue was laid out right in front of her, beckoning her. She cried out helplessly, clawing at the metal around her neck. The three figures around the now helmet-less Matt threw off their helmets to reveal a very shocked Mello, a morbidly terrorized Near and…L.

L stared up at his lover chained up and struggling like a trapped animal. He dropped his helmet on the ground, broke off all of his armor, and sprinted towards her, stopping right in front of the staircase that separated them. Sora stared at her lover, her eyes filled with tears of love and sadness. L's eyes that had captivated her were now brimming with love and horror. His whole body was shaking frantically.

"S-Sora…" he whispered at first, but his voice was soon strong and dominant. "SORA!" he sprinted up the stairs, managing to skip about ten steps and only stumbling once. Sora strained against her restraints so much that they were carving into her pale skin, drawing deep red blood to the surface. She didn't care if they drew all of her blood from her. She needed to be in his arms. She needed to be with him again. Her heart ached in her chest.

The SWAT team was now spread across the whole floor, the three successors running up the staircases surrounding Sora. L was now feet away from Sora, his legs giving out under him as he collapsed onto her, cupping her face with his hands.

"Oh Sora I'm so sorry love. It's okay. I've got you." He whispered lovingly into her ears as he hugged her tightly, his white shirt staining with her blood. Sora cried helplessly into his arms as her bloody hands wrapped around her angel tightly, afraid to let go. L pulled Sora's face up so he could see her. His dark eyes started watering at the sight. She was completely broken. A scar ran up her blood stained face and her usually happy and loving eyes were filled with fear and pain. She tangled her bloody fingers into his dark obsidian hair, pulling his beautiful face down closer to hers, looking at him with her onyx-grey eyes. She pressed her body against his, wanting to infuse herself within in and be a part of him forever.

"L…I-" she whispered quietly and she was cut off by L's yearning lips pressed against her own blood stained ones. She whimpered into the kiss as he caressed her face softly, almost as if she was his fragile little porcelain doll. Their tears mixed together as they were both lost in love. L moaned into the kiss as he pressed his hand against her back, pushing her even closely to him. Sora simply let herself infuse into his kiss and his touch, wanting to stay in this moment for the rest of eternity. She missed his gentle touch and loving kisses. He was her guardian angel, her savior, and her lover. L broke the kiss sharply, but he tightened his embrace on her.

"Sora I love you so much. You have no idea how worried and frightened I've been." He buried his face into her hair and cried softly, his tears soaking into her dark brown hair. Sora simply pressed herself into his perfect chest and cried softly into his now blood stained shirt.

A few seconds later Near, Matt, and Mello had appeared at Sora's side, working quickly on the chains. Mello had shot the link of the chain that was connected to the wall. Soon Sora was completely free and she toppled onto L, her weak legs giving out. Mello grabbed Sora's wrists and his icy eyes started to leak clear tears of hurt. He held her wrists cautiously in his own calloused hands. Near simply gave her a reassuring smile, holding the small music box he had picked up off the floor, and went back to attend to the SWAT team who was looking for Beyond. Matt's emerald eyes were for once not shielded by his goggles, but were gazing at Sora as he assisted Near. Sora crawled up to L's arms until she was sharply pulled back from her neck. She clawed at the cuff around her neck as she was being dragged away from L. she screamed and cried in agony as trails of blood spilled on the floor.

"SORA!" L's eyes shot up and he sprinted towards her, his reach managing to grab onto the chains on her feet. He quickly switched his grasp so he was pulling against the chain of her neck to avoid strangling her. The chain suddenly gave in and L stumbled back with a bleeding Sora in his grasp. A soul piercing laugh came from the darkness where the chain began to move. The maniacal laugh loomed closer to the horrified lovers and the three successors. Sora was clinging to L, digging her nails into his back fearing the man behind that laugh.

"My my my! What do we have here? I am rather impressed Lawliet. Your reaction time was rather fast. Only took you thirteen days to get your precious Sora back." The dark figure stumbled into the small beam of light, revealing Beyond Birthday. His blood red eyes filled with insanity flickered wildly from Sora to the successors then to the SWAT team, and finally to Lawliet. His sadistic smile spread wider at the sight of the man.

A sharp maniacal laugh exploded in the dark room, bouncing off the walls and making everyone in the room shiver with fear. Mello stared sharply at the man, trying to hide the obvious horrified expression with a hostile one. Near stared intently at the psychopath, never seeing someone, or something, so terrifying. Matt simply signaled the SWAT team to stay on guard, his body shaking.

L's eyes were filled with hostility and murder, his grip tightening on Sora. He clenched his jaw line so tight that he drew blood. His throat rumbled with a fierce and sharp growl. He didn't move, but simply stared at his "backup". Beyond noticed the blood trickling down his ex-hero's mouth, and laughed again. He suddenly sprang forward and grabbed L by his neck with skeletal hands.

Mello saw the movement and flicked out his gun and shot Beyond right in the shoulder, causing the deranged genius to lose his balance and fall next to L. L grabbed Sora and stood up, only to find his foot had been caught in a device that looked somewhat like a bear trap. His eyes widened with pain as the metal spikes dug into his left ankle, blood flowing out onto the floor and in front of Beyond. Beyond stood up weakly but laughed at the sound of L's scream of agony. Matt signaled the SWAT team to surround the laughing maniac and restrain him. Using his good arm Beyond pulled on the trap and brought L and Sora right next to him. L toppled onto the floor, still holding the paralyzed Sora who was shaking with fear and screaming her soul out.

Beyond's face showed a sick smirk and crimson orbs staring at all of the SWAT team members surrounding him. Mello had placed his gun directly on Beyond's right temple. His voiced was filled with rage as he held up the gun.

"You have five seconds to release your hold on L and Sora before I personally shoot your f**king sick minded brain out." He stared angrily at Beyond with hostile eyes. Beyond simply gave him a defeated look and placed his face right up to Mello's.

"Well? Don't I get some sort of countdown?" he smiled evilly at the blonde.

Mello simply unclenched his jaw and began counting coldly. "Five…Four…Three…Two…"

Beyond began to chuckle as he quickly pulled out a little black remote from his pocket and shone it on Mello's face. Mello stared back in horror as he immediately recognized the device. He looked at all the locations where he had placed his explosives. One loomed directly over himself.

It was a detonator.

Beyond chuckled quietly as he leaned closer into Mello and whispered coldly, "One." The maniac suddenly crashed onto the floor next to the weary man and his lover who appeared to be unable to move or do anything other than to cling onto her savior.

_Click._

Mello let out a sharp gasp as the whole room suddenly exploded in a wave of fire and color. The sound and impact of the explosion snapped L back into reality. He let out a heartbroken cry as he saw Mello take the full force of the explosion over him and Near and Mello pinned down on the cold floor by a piece of ceiling that had collapsed due to the explosion, the music box tossed to the side. Beyond threw his victims behind him as he himself pressed a button on the detonator that made him and his captives fall down far below the explosion and into a shaft of darkness. The last thing L managed to see before he hit the floor were all three of his beloved successors and lying lifeless on the floor surrounded by fire, their lifeless faces contorted with agony.

And then L's head hit the floor, his arms still wrapped protectively around his broken doll.


	12. Crimson Chains

Chapter Twelve: Crimson Chains

L's dark eyes snapped open at the sound of metal chains crashing onto the hard cement floor. L scoped out the room looking for the source of the sound that woke him up from his unconscious state. His eyes could only catch a glimmer of light radiating from a small candle on a metal pole. He tried to stretch his limbs, only to be overtaken by the blinding pain in his ankle. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth together as the pain shot through him. L's heart began to accelerate when he felt the cold metal wrapped around his wrists that had him hoisted up and dangling above the floor, locking his body uncomfortably. His mind tracked back to remember how exactly he got himself here.

_Blood…fire…Sora…_

His heart pounded wildly against his bare chest as he remembered what had happened to his lover. _Where is she?_

_Chains…Pain…Sora…_

He began to thrash against the chains, pulling down on his wrists. His breath became erratic and his eyes focused on the metal cuffs. With a final pull, he flicked his hands out from the restraints, leaving him completely free. He crashed onto the floor, his wounded ankle absorbing all the impact. His whole body stiffened as the mind blowing pain snaked through his body. He writhed on the floor, letting out chocked screams of agony, his face contorted with agony. He dug his nails into the wall, pulling himself up and balancing on his wound free leg. He leaned against the wall, his breath tired and ragged, as his eyes searched the empty dull lit room. He hobbled towards the metal pole where the small candle flame was silently flickering, his jaw clenched as he tried to ignore the pain. With a shaky hand, he carefully picked up the candle and looked around the room. As he lifted up the candle, a dark figure loomed above him, smiling at L with an animalistic smile. L let out a frightening scream and he stammered back, his balance overthrowing him. He collapsed onto the floor, his head making contact with the floor, letting out a sharp crack. L's head flicked behind him and his eyes shot forward, staring at the figure that now stood directly over him, crimson orbs eyeing the detective maliciously on the floor.

"Well look what we have here. Looks like Lawliet woke up finally." He stared down at the man, insanity overpowering every feature on his pale face. Beyond crouched down, his face inches away from L's face. L blinked rapidly as trails of blood began to streak down his face, dripping off of his chin. "You had me worried there Lawlipop. I thought I had accidentally killed you!" Beyond let out a spine chilling cackle, his laughter echoing off the dark walls. "That would have been a disappointment to me, for I could have my fun with you dead now could I?" He traced his skeletal finger up the bleeding man's torso, dragging his nail into the skin and flicking up the dripping blood from L's chin. L kept his eyes still and emotionless, but inside he was screaming with rage and pain. His memory betrayed him as it found memories of Sora. How much pain had she endured in the presence of Beyond? How was she not dead from all those gashes and scars inflicted on her? Her once flawless body would be forever scared with the horrible memories of the torture and pain. Her soul would be lost in a cascading sea of pain and loneliness. Even though L had held her broken body in his own hands, he felt so distant. He felt her weak heart yearning to match the rhythm of his own.

Beyond noticed L's emotionless mask and rage fueled the maniac. He shouted angrily as he drew out his knife and flicked it down L's pale chest. L's eyes watered as the burning sensation tore across his chest, his mind stifling the howl of pain that his throat was so willing to let out. He simply gazed back at his "backup", matching his emotionless dark eyes with enraged blood red orbs. Beyond glared at the detective and grabbed a fistful of his jet black hair, yanking his head up painfully and drawing blood from his scalp. L let out a quiet whimper of pain, but his eyes snapped shut and his face cringed with torment. Beyond shook the man roughly, splattering blood all over the darkness of the room. He threw L against the wall, sending another blow to the bloody genius's head.

"You bastard! How dare you ignore me? Hiding behind that emotionless mask of yours, hiding all the pain! Let me see it! Show me how much this really hurts you!" Beyond shouted angrily as he crushed L's broken ankle with his deathly grip, twisting the bloody mangled flesh. L stared directly at Beyond, only letting out a small grunt of pain, his face as emotionless as before. His eyes looked deeply into Beyond's blood red eyes, still refusing to show any emotion. L knew better than to show him any emotion. If he did, he would give Beyond complete power over him.

Beyond realized his methods of getting L to react were being diminished by L's absolute ability to be completely emotionless no matter the situation. He grunted angrily and kicked L swiftly but powerfully across his face. L's whole body flipped sideways with the impact of the blow, blood pooling in his mouth. He sat up, his head fuzzy and blurry, and spat the blood on the floor, a thin trail running down the corners of his mouth.

Beyond turned his back on the battered man and skulked over to the other side of the room. "Well I guess Lawlipop might be too smart and strong for a simple beating to affect him" he shrugged carelessly, picking up the candle in his ghostly hands.

"_He calls this simple?"_ L's mind thought as his eyes fell upon the gash running down his once flawless torso. He felt his blood flow down his unhinged jaw. L's eyes watched blurrily as Beyond walked slowly towards the other end of the room, disappearing into the darkness surrounding them, the only thing signaling his presence was the flickering candle. Beyond suddenly pulled a piece of fabric on what seemed to be a large piece of furniture. L stared blankly at the shadowed object, unable to determine what it was. Beyond chuckled quietly as he lifted up the candle to shine the warm light on a pale listless face, letting it linger for only a few seconds before blowing out the candle. The room was completely consumed in darkness once again.

L's eyes froze, widening at the sight. He looked around worriedly into the darkness where the figure was standing. He threw his body forward in an attempt to stand up, but the blinding agony surrounding his ankle and burning down his face and jaw caused him to fall down into the ground, his already broken jaw slamming down into the cold hard floor. His mangled ankle twisted behind him as he lay on the floor writhing in agony as pain shot in all directions threw his body. He couldn't help but let out a small but sustained grunt. He heard Beyond's devilish cackle off to the right, the laughter echoing through the room once again. L simply flipped his body upright so he could let the blood from his jaw and mouth trickle down his lacerated chest and onto the floor.

"Wow Lawliet. I'm impressed. I had no idea you could endure physical pain so much." Beyond chuckled as he stalked towards the bleeding man on the floor, his cold breath lingering on L's face. L made no attempt to move, but simply waited for Beyond to do something. L had caught a glimpse of Sora before Beyond blew out the candle. He figured that if he wanted to see her again, he would have to comply with this bloodthirsty maniac. Beyond chuckled again as he clicked a metallic handcuff on L's pale shaking wrist, the cold sensation causing L to flinch. Beyond kept staring at his now bound superior in front of him, his bloody eyes staring into L's dark eyes. He quickly stood up and walked back to the right side of the room. With a quick flick, the room's eerie darkness was replaced with an even scarier dim flicker.

L's eyes shot from Beyond to the now clearly visible figure beside the maniac. His eyes fell upon his still lover, her pale complexion emphasizing the dark red scars on her face and body. Her eyes were closed and her head was hung low, her body propped up by a device that wrapped around her chest and hang upwards. At first glance, L thought she was dead, but then there was a slight twitch going down her pale childlike hands.

"Sora!" L cried out at his lover, his hand straining against the handcuff. His voice caused Sora's onyx eyes to flutter open. L stared horrified at the sight of his lover's eyes slowly turning up to glance at him listlessly.

Sora was dead, but not completely. She still breathed and moved, but she was simply dead. Her once loving warm eyes were dead and cold, fear and pain quietly looming within them. She stared blankly into his eyes trying to force a loving look into them, but only managed to stare blankly with the weakest smile lightly dusted upon her ghostly lips. L flailed wildly against his restraint, the metal now cutting into his wrist. He clawed ferociously at the cuff, his eyes filled with sorrow and panic. He cried her name out to try to release her of this trance she was in, but she kept staring, a single tear trickled down her lifeless face. L had been too late. She had fallen too fast into a perpetual world of pain and darkness. He couldn't catch her in time, or pull her out. She had drowned in the dark crimson sea of torture and sorrow. Her soul was dark and broken like a shattered black diamond lying eternally in a dark still room, lacking its lively glimmer. L's whole being ached with pain, but not because of what had happened on his exterior. He had failed miserably. He had let his lover, his reason for living, die on him.

Beyond started to chuckle, and then a frightening laugh exploded from his mouth. L's eyes flickered from Sora to glare angrily at his "backup". His eyes were completely black with rage. "Such hostility! I have never seen you this emotional Lawlipop! It's so amusing!" Beyond leaned against the wall and leaned forward, his pale hands hugging his torso as his hyena-like laugh consumed the room. He stepped idly towards Sora and traced a skeletal finger down the side of her face.

"Get. Your. Hands. Off. Of. Her." L spat out coldly at the psychopath, his trapped arm still straining. The cold metal cuff swiftly rubbed against the bone, a sharp gasp of pain escaping L's broken mouth. Beyond simply chuckled as he cupped Sora's face. Sora simply glanced up at Beyond and let her eyes fall back upon the enraged and battered L.

She simply stared blankly at his, more tears streaming down her face. Beyond then let his hands roam about her body, slowly tracing every scar and curve. Beyond exhaled softly and pressed his body closer to hers, a small groan escaping his lips as he smirked at L. Sora let out a small whimper.

L lost it. With a final pull, he sliced the skin from his hand and broke free of the chain, the large chunk of his hand plopping on the floor leaving a bloody mess. L lunged forward at Beyond like a rabid wolf, punching him in the throat with his good hand. Beyond stumbled back and collapsed on the floor, his red eyes wide as he choked violently. L leaned against the wall, his sight going completely white as his hand surged with pain. He shot a look at Sora. Her face went from completely lifeless to a look of sheer horror. Her fragile lips began to tremble and she let out a blood curdling scream. She thrashed around violently and cried out L's name, her eyes screwed shut. L turned around as he wrapped Sora in a protective embrace, the blood from his chest staining her fresh white robe. Sora immediately clung to L, but her body was still convulsing slightly.

Beyond stared up at the embraced lovers, his eyes filled with a murderous look of insanity. He pushed off the floor and stood up, flicking out his metallic knife. He stumbled towards the couple, his eyes surging with adrenaline. Sora saw the knife in his and her eyes widened. She tried to push her lover away from her, but L had passed out due to all the blood loss. She shook his body violently, screaming at him to wake up. Tears streamed down her face.

"L! L wake up! Wake up dammit!" She screamed hoarsely, her vice ragged. She had been completely snapped out of her corpse like state, her eyes now filled with fear and horror. She shook harder, but the unconscious L simply leaned on her, his bloodied arms draped down her backside. His eyes were now closed heavily. The blood from his hand ran down her back and dripped down her entire body, pooling on the floor besides her feet. He was losing blood fast. Sora could feel the blood from his chest seep through her clothes.

Beyond looked at the scene before him, his once angry eyes were now expressionless. He dropped the knife with a loud clack and he quickly walked and stood behind L. Sora's tear stained eyes looked up from L to meet Beyond. She stared up at him, her cries ragged and strained. Beyond simply looked at Sora, and then his eyes fell upon L. His eyes widened and a smirk played across his face for what seemed like a second before it was wiped away. He picked up the unconscious bloody man and flung him over his shoulder. Sora started to scream in protest, her eyes wide as she saw her lover be taken away. Beyond simply looked at her and with a quick movement, he spun around and slapped her hard across the face. Sora stared up wide-eyed, her breath hitched.

"Stop whining Sora. I'm not letting him die." He stared back at her coldly, flexing and stretching his hand. He turned around and pulled the large metal door open, letting a large glimmer of light in. Sora looked at her now clearly lit lover being carried away by her torturer. She gagged and started to cry at the sight. Half of his hand had been completely torn off, blood oozing rapidly from the limb. His bloody mangled jaw looked as if it would fall right off any second, the skin broken and dirty. L lay limply on Beyond's shoulder, his eyes closed.

Before Beyond closed the door, he dropped L beside the door and walked towards Sora, the scuffling of his feet echoing in the now silent room. He reached his hands out to her face, causing Sora to flinch in fear of being slapped again. He simply stared at her, his eyes completely emotionless. He gently cupped her face and caressed her cheek with the pads of his thumbs. His cold breath loomed on her face and he leaned in closer. Sora simply stood still and stared at him, her mind lost in his crimson eyes. Everything that had just occurred seemed to simply disappear. For a moment, it was just Sora and Beyond and nothing else. Not even the rapidly dying L that had his own blood pooled at Sora's feet and all over her body. She was hypnotized by the look in his eyes. There were no emotions running through Sora. She didn't feel anger or hatred. She didn't feel sadness or pain. She simply stared into his eyes for what seemed like an eternity.

Without warning, he pressed his cold lips onto hers, sending a shock down Sora's spine. Sora froze in place as Beyond began to lightly move his lips against hers, a quiet moan escaping his lips. Before Sora could even move, he quickly pulled away and walked towards the other side of the room where L was chained. He bent down and picked up the other half of L's mangled hand, more of the blood covering Beyond's hand. He looked at Sora, a sadistic smile on his face as he waved the bloody chunk of L's hand at her teasingly. Sora flicked her head away from the sight, her eyes starting to water again. He stood up and walked over to the unconscious L, picked him up, and walked out of the door and closing it, leaving Sora alone in the dark bloody room.


	13. Awaken

_A/N: Long chapter, but I liked writing this ALOT!_

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Chapter Thirteen: Awaken

"_This is Hell." _Mello whispered to himself. Where the hell was he? Why could he open his eyes? He lifted a frail bandaged hand to his face, fingers tracing across layers of bandages. He inhaled the sickeningly strong smell of medicines and anti-bacterial ointments. He knew he was in a hospital, that was a given, but he didn't know exactly where. He sat up slowly, the pain coursing through his body. He tried to slide out of the bed, only to be stopped by a pair of small hands forcing him back on the bed. Mello winced as his body flopped on the bed.

"Mello you know you can't get out of bed. You'll only hurt yourself more." A cold and emotionless voice murmured through the thick bandages. Mello cursed under his breath and faced the figure, his icy eyes unable to glare at him.

"Damn bandages…" he hissed as the figure began to unfold the medicine covered bandages, his sensitive skin being pulled uncomfortably. Layer by layer the bandages were completely gone and he was able to slowly open his eyes.

"Hmm…. The scars have been healing well." The voice murmured quietly. A pale hand reached under Mello's chin and pulled up his face to inspect the scars. Mello's gaze filtered up to see a very beat up Near, his usually pale and flawless face covered in bruised and cuts. A thick bandage was wrapped around his forehead, the white material mixed with his white strands of hair. His white pajama shirt was opened in the front, revealing another thick bandage wrapped tightly against his small torso.

"How's Matt?" Mello muttered quietly. Near removed his hands away from Mello's face and grabbed a bottle of ointment from the nightstand.

"He's still unconscious, but his physical injuries are healing rapidly. I think they will be completely gone in approximately five days." His voice was monotone as his thin ointment covered fingers lightly tapped against Mello's face. Mello's nose scrunched as the smell hit him. The strong medical smell of the ointment mixed with his burnt, dead, and raw flesh caused his stomach to turn uncomfortably.

Near laid down the ointment on the table and pulled out a new roll of bandages from the drawer. He began to stretch out the bandages on Mello's face before a bandaged hand stopped him. Mello looked up emotionlessly at Near, his blue eyes cold and hard.

"Can I see?" his voice was a quiet murmur. Near dropped the bandages on the bed and rummaged through the drawer again. He pulled out a small metallic mirror and handed it to the scarred man. Mello held the handle firmly and gazed upon his reflection. The whole right side of his face was…perfect. Not a single scratch or mark covered it. He traced a finger down his cheek, feeling the perfect smooth skin. His eyes glared at his reflection. The whole entire left side of his face was burned, raw, and horrid looking. The same finger lightly tapped against the skin, only to feel rough raw skin covered in the sticky ointment. He tilted his head so he could see all of it. The scar ran from the top of his forehead all the way down to his mid-backside which was covered in old sticky bandages. He glared at the reflection for the last time and thrust the mirror into Near's arms. Mello closed his eyes slowly and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Okay. I'm done. Go ahead." Mello said plainly. Near picked up the bandage and started to wrap it around Mello's face. soon the white light of the room was shrouded by the bandage. After the seventh layer was placed, Near cut the bandage and clipped it in place with a small metal brace.

"Please remove your shirt." Near said calmly. Mello nodded and slipped off his white hospital shirt and flung it across the bed. He flinched slightly as Near's skeletal hands traced above the bandage. As the bandages were being removed Mello stretched out his back like a cat, his joins clicking and cracking. Near rubbed his hands together with more of the ointment and began to softly knead the raw flesh. Mello hissed at the pain and his breath became ragged.

"Please relax Mello. I need to properly work in the ointment." Near said emotionlessly, his hands now gently massaging the flesh. Mello slowly relaxed and let his eyes flutter open. The tension in his shoulders slowly disappeared and was replaced with a warm feeling of relaxation. He began to flex his shoulders when he realized he could no longer feel Near's hands moving against his bare skin. Mello sharpened his hearing to hear Near's voice whimper and his breath skip over... It took Mello a mere five seconds to realize Near was quietly crying, his tears trickling down his face and landing on his lap.

"N-Near…What's wrong?" Mello asked his voice demanding and strong. It freaked him out whenever the kid who pretty much repelled emotions actually showed one.

"It's just…I'm worried." Near said softly, his body shaking slightly.

"Why? What's wrong" Mello stared straight ahead, the bandages shielding his eyesight.

"I mean…I'm worried because of L and Sora…" Near managed to speak up louder. Mello's eyes flashed open behind the bandages. He had forgotten all about L and Sora. He didn't even know what happened after the explosion.

_Fire, blood, darkness, L, Sora, Beyond Birthday…_

Images of the horrible scene flooded his memory as his whole body stiffened again. He clenched his jaw and shut his eyes tightly. He felt Near stiffen, but he heard his quiet sobs disappear.

"No matter. Your wounds need to be treated. Forgive my actions." Near said, his voice turning back into his cold emotionless tone. He rubbed the last amount of ointment into Mello's skin and began to wrap Mello's toned torso with new bandages. When he was done, Near wiped his hands and helped Mello step out of the bed.

Near helped Mello walk out of the hospital room and into the empty hallway. Mello sniffed the air around him and sensed that it was different than before.

"Near," he said calmly. "We're back at headquarters right?"

"Yes we are." Near said, his eyes eyeing the blonde man.

"Liar. Where the hell are we?" Mello hissed angrily, his bandaged fists clenching.

"We are at headquarters, just a different one. Watari told me that when we returned from the warehouse the whole entire headquarters was completely burned and covered in water. Apparently, Beyond hacked into the computer's mainframe and caused the computers and security systems to go haywire. Eventually the computers overheated and caught on fire. The smoke triggered the sprinklers and drowned everything in water."

Mello growled angrily. "_That stupid f**ker Beyond. I'm gonna kill him." _he thought to himself. "So where are we now?"

"We are no longer in Japan. We are now relocated in Los Angeles, California." Near said calmly, leading the blonde down into the kitchen. When they went into the kitchen, they saw Matsuda sitting at the table, eating his breakfast listlessly. Watari was making breakfast over the stove. Matsuda tuned around to face Near and Mello. His arm was lifted in a cast.

"Oh…Hey Near. How are you and Mello recovering?" he asked quietly, his voice filled with concern.

"We are both feeling better thank you." He led Mello to the table and signaled Watari for some food. He gave Near a bowl filled with plain looking cereal and gave Mello a rather large stack of chocolate chip pancakes, their daily breakfasts.

"Near you should get some rest after breakfast. You've been working all day and tending to both Matt and Mello. You need to tend to your own wounds as well." Watari said, his voice strict and worried.

"I advise you that I am fine. If my body asks for rest I will make sure to oblige it." Near said, his hand moving the spoon in his cereal slowly. Mello tried to eat his pancakes, but groaned angrily with his lack of vision. Near quickly cut up the pancakes and fed the angry Mello. Matsuda stared at Mello quickly, distracted by the blindfold.

"Mello. How bad is it?" He asked shyly.

"Meh…Pretty bad, but its okay. I don't mind as long as I actually have a face." Mello spoke lively, his voice laced with boredom. It had been about two weeks since they had failed to save Sora and capture Beyond. Both Near and Mello were itching to go save Sora and L this time. "Have there been any leads to where BB might be holding L and Sora?"

Watari gave Mello another pancake. "Not yet. The one who knew all of his possible whereabouts is Matt, and we know he is in no condition to do work. Yes he did regain consciousness shortly after Near left him, but I think it is best we let him rest, you know…in his current state." Mello simply sighed and toyed with the bandages on his hands. He hadn't seen Matt since they were in the warehouse. Last time he saw him he was pinned under a freaking ceiling.

"What exactly is wrong with Matt?" Mello asked Near with a worried tone.

"Well as you are aware Matt and I were in quite a similar situation back at the warehouse. I was able to escape alive only because of Matt's actions. From what I heard, Matt's body was the one thing protecting my head from being smashed under that ceiling. Thankfully, Matt was still alive when Aizawa and Mogi released his body from the ruins, but after close examination we found that he had suffered multiple head wounds and a severe concussion. We are still unaware of the trauma his mind has been able to take, but we are still closely monitoring him for any signs of amnesia, hallucinations, or any other mental injuries." Near said, his eyes never once leaving Mello's bandaged face.

Mello shoved the last couple pieces of pancake in his mouth and stood up sharply. He stumbled out of his chair but began to walk quickly towards the door.

"Mello where do you think you are going?' Near asked loudly and sharply. Mello stopped dead in his tracks.

"I'm gonna go see Matt and if you have a problem with that then go screw yourself." He shouted angrily at what he thought was Near's direction. To Matsuda's amusement, he was shouting at a wall.

"I have no wish to prevent you from seeing Matt, but I will say that you are heading in the wrong direction." Near stated, twirling a lock of hair between his fingers. Mello growled angrily and waited for Near to escort him to Matt, a red flush of embarrassment coursed through him.

When they reached Matt's room, Mello could already hear the loud obnoxious electronic beeps coming from multiple game systems. Near stood by the door for a couple of seconds before clearing his throat, catching Matt's attention.

"Oh hey Near! What's up? I finally woke up! I was kind of bored pretending to be unconscious all the time." Matt said simply.

"Why would you pretend to be unconscious for such a long time? You had all of us thinking you we weren't going to be able to rececitate you." Near said angrily, his cold glare fixed on the gamer.

"Well if I was conscious I would have to get my own food, get my own clothes, and make my own bed. Who the hell wants to do that?" he fixed his gaze back to his DS.

Near let out a silent grumble. "Well I brought Mello to see you." He pulled the blinded blonde into the room.

Matt gazed up at Mello and let out a sharp gasp. His eyes started watering at the sight of his best friend, his face completely covered in bandages from the nose up and going down the left side of his face down his exposed torso.

Mello felt the tension and sadness that radiated off of Matt. He cringed as he stood and muttered awkwardly. "Uh…Hey Matt. How are you?"

Matt simply sat in his bed and stared. "Mells… I'm so sorry." His voice was now quiet and mournful.

Mello's face displayed a mocking smirk as he smiled widely. "Geez Jeevas! You talk as if I died or something. I just got a couple of burns. That's all." Mello scoffed mockingly at his worried friend. He let out a light hearted laugh to relax his best friend. Matt's face relaxed and his body loosened up. His face was taken over by a warm smile as he slowly slid out of his bed and went by Mello's side. He led his friend down to sit on his bed and adjusted the pillows to prop him up.

"So what happened to you?" Matt asked casually, his fingers fiddling with his handheld electronic device.

"Oh it's just a couple burns. That usually happens when an explosive detonates right above you face." Mello smirked teasingly at Matt.

"Ah…well I wouldn't know." Matt mumbled quietly. "Can I see it?"

Mello tensed up at the request, but he let out a small sigh and signaled Near to remove the bandages. Near simply stayed in his chair and glared at Mello.

"I advise Mello that if he wished for his wounds to heal to their best ability that he leave them on." He huffed angrily, annoyed that Mello thought he was his personal servant. Which in a remote way, he was.

"Well I'm saying that I want them off for a while. It would be pretty cool if I can see who I'm talking to for once!" He yelled at what he thought was Near. Sadly, he was yelling at a table lamp. Matt exploded in laughter as Near let out a small chuckle.

"Fine then. Please sit up." Near walked over to Mello and took his face in his hands. Matt watched anxiously as Near slowly removed the bandages. Layer by layer the sensitive skin was revealed. Mello winced uncomfortably as the bandages pinched his skin. He looked at Matt whose emerald eyes were staring in fear. Every time Mello would twitch with the slight pain Matt would match his startled movements.

Near stepped back, a pile of dirty bandages in his possession. He tossed the bandages in the trashcan and rinsed his hands in the small sink opposite the bed. Mello stretched his joints slowly, popping and cracking his now released body. Matt stared at Mello intently, his eyes filled with worry and sorrow. Mello noticed his uneasy emotion and lightly placed his burn free hand on Matt's shoulder.

"It's okay. It really isn't that bad. At least I'm not dead right?" he joked playfully. Matt let out a sigh and smiled at his best friend.

"How badly does it hurt?" Matt questioned silently. He traced a finger on Mello's blistered shoulder.

"Eh…not that bad. It just bugs me, you know the smell and all." He glanced at Near who was settled comfortably in a chair. "So what happened to you?"

Matt gasped and tensed up immediately, his eyes going off into a blank stare. Mello stared at his friend intently and Near focused sharply on Matt. After a few seconds, Matt's eyes started to blink. In a plain voice, Matt whispered "I'm not really sure."

Mello simply sighed and looked at Near, a worried look plastered his face. Near simply nodded and curled a lock of his snow white hair between his childlike fingers.

"You know…You kinda look like Two Face from Batman." Matt chuckled as his eyes took in the sight of Mello's charred torso.

"Really? Does that mean you get to be Batman?" Mello laughed loudly as he playfully punched Matt's arm.

"Hell yeah! I'll kick your ass and save Gotham any day!" Matt laughed happily and returned the punch. In a matter of seconds, the two "injured" teenagers were sprawled on the hospital bed kicking and punching each other. Near glared at the violent boys, a bored and irritated expression consuming his face.

"If you guys would not mind, I think it is best you settle down. Mello is clearly injured and Matt is in no condition to be roughhousing." He stood above the teenagers wildly thrown on the bed. Mello and Matt exchanged a quick glance and smiled innocently at Near.

"Aww Near! Are you mad that you don't get to be in this awesome battle of epicness?" Mello glanced mockingly at the albino. He exploded in cheerful laughter.

"I think you should be the Riddler! You pretty much spend your day solving those stupid puzzles!" Mello laughed loudly, completely oblivious to the pain he was experiencing.

"I have a hard time believing you two were my competition back at Whammy's." He sighed tiredly and toyed with a lock of his snow white hair between his fingers. He stared at the best friends intently, studying how they seemed to know exactly what the other was thinking and was about to say. A single look could give away so much between them. It was almost as if they were tied by a brotherly bond. Near shook his head, disposing of the theory. He knew that their bond was stronger, but he couldn't place it.

Near was suddenly pulled out of his thoughtful state when he heard Mello shout sharply. Near looked over to see a terrified Mello jump off the bed. Near shifted his gaze towards Matt only to be completely horrified. Matt's emerald green eyes that were always full of life were now glossed over with a dark haze, the spark of life almost completely gone. Matt clenched his fists in the sheets and he started to convulse uncontrollably in his bed, his eyes wide and infested with fear. His whole entire body shook violently. Near ran towards him and tried to grab his hand. Matt's terrorized eyes snapped down at Near's hands and he viciously snarled at Near.

"Leave me alone! Don't touch me! Go away!" Matt's shrieks of pain filled the room as he clawed at the bed like a rabid animal, his mind filled with images of evil spirits and horrible monstrous creatures. Seconds later, Aizawa and Mogi came running into the room, panic covering their faces.

"Restrain him!" Near shouted sharply, running over to the medicine cabinet and pulling out a large syringe. Mogi and Aizawa nodded and held Matt's writhing wrists down. Matt strained violently against their hold, snapping his eyes shut as tears flooded down his face.

"Stop it! Let me go! I don't want die! Stop it!" Matt snapped his neck down and sank his teeth into Aizawa's hand, his teeth grinding the flesh. Aizawa shouted painfully and he snatched his hand away, blood running from his wound and dripping on the floor. Matt spat the chunk of Aizawa's flesh onto the floor as he screamed and shouted in his bed. Suddenly, Near quickly jabbed the syringe into Matt's arm and released the medication. Almost instantly, Matt stopped screaming and he lay still on the bed. His eyes looked over at Mello who was frozen in place in the corner of the room. Matt blinked slowly and his eyes finally closed.

Aizawa slouched back in the chair holding his hand to his chest, his eyes wide and frightened. "What the hell just happened?" Mogi quickly opened the tableside drawer and pulled out a first aid kit. Near quickly cleaned up Matt and then walked over to Mello who was still frozen in place.

"Mello please relax. It is over for now." He said his voice almost unnaturally flat.

Mello didn't move. Hell, he didn't breathe. He was too afraid to do anything but stand there, paralyzed in fear. He was afraid of Matt. He was afraid of what happened. He was afraid of what could have happened.

He was afraid.

His ice eyes were fixated upon Matt's unconscious face, tears beginning to form in his eyes. Matt was gone. The person who had snapped and lost control wasn't Matt. It was as if something had possessed his body and mind. Mello remembered staring into the dead hazy eyes, a glimmer of red residing within them. He remembered seeing his eyes flutter open, a small almost unrecognizable smirk ruined with blood stained lips. This wasn't Matt. Matt was gone. He wasn't coming back.

Mello's legs gave out under him and he collapsed onto the floor, tears streaming from his eyes and splashing on the ceramic floor. His hands clenched around the floor below him and he crouched down, his blonde hair hanging down as he cried. His teeth were gritted and his breath hitched. The sobs tore through him as images of the old Matt flooded his mind.

"_Mihael Keehl huh?" The old man looked down at the child from his desk, eyeing him oddly as if he were a dirty old piece of trash. _

"_Yes Roger. Mihael Keehl. He is seven years old and is quite the little genius." Watari looked firmly at Roger, a frightened Mihael clinging to his coat, his eyes red from crying and exhaustion._

"_Well what happened to his family?" Roger said, his hands searching through several documents._

"_His father was the head of the Mafia and his mother was a homemaker. They died three days ago because of an explosive planted in their home. Mihael has been in my care for this duration." Watari said bluntly. "I have to leave in a few minutes, would you mind setting things up for him?"_

_Roger sighed and pulled himself out of his chair. He handed Watari a few papers and Mihael watched as he scribbled multiple things on them. Watari looked down at Mihael, his big blue eyes frightened and moist._

"_Mister? Where's mommy? Where's daddy? I wanna go home..." Little Mihael's lips started to quiver, his breath hitched and shaky. His eyes wandered around the room, taking in the sight of old bookshelves filled with dusty books. It reminded him of when his mommy would read him books as he lay in bed. Where was mommy? Why isn't he with her? He didn't care much for daddy, but he loved his mommy._

"_This is your new home now Mihael. And a new home requires a new name. your name is now Mello. Do not use your old name at all." Watari kneeled down and looked at the crying child._

"_But mommy gave me that name. Where is she?" Mello asked, his voice quivering._

"_Mommy and daddy are gone Mello. This is your new home now." Watari pulled out a small chocolate bar from out of his coat pocket and placed it in Mello's tiny hands. "Will Mello promise to be a good boy?"_

_Mello simply looked up at Watari and nodded slightly. Watari gave him a small hug and he nodded at Rodger who then took Mello's hand. Mello walked down the large hallway of this strange building, his small eyes scanning every detail that passed him._

"_Now Mello this is Whammy's House. Here is where we take care of many kids who are in your similar situation. If you need anything, feel free to ask any of the teachers, counselors, your roommate, or myself." Rodger continued to walk down a hallway with multiple doors all labeled with a different number. Mello didn't like this place. It was too scary. The hard wooden floor creaked under his tiny feet and the walls were decorated with multiple candles and a few bells. It reminded Mello of one of the castles that mommy had read to him about, except he was sure no beautiful princess or brave knight would be in here._

_Rodger stopped in front of a small wooden door and opened it slowly. Mello peeked anxiously inside to see a dim small room with a rather large window showing the cold gloomy room. There were two twin beds separated by a small nightstand with a dark wooden finish. The walls had an eerie dark russet color to them and the room had a faint smell of the rain that drizzled outside._

"_Matt. Wake up." Roger shouted towards the bed on the left. Mello watched cautiously as a small lump began to quietly rise up from the bed. A small hand stretched out from under the covers to pull them down. Mello's eyes watched carefully as a small messy head of red hair was exposed._

"_Nya…Yeah? What's up Roger?" The redhead slurred his words lazily, his petite hands rubbing his sleepy green eyes as he yawned. He glanced over at Mello and stared at him intently. Mello's eyes widened and he cowered behind Roger._

_Roger strongly grabbed a hold of Mello's sleeve and pulled him forward, the small child whipped in front of Roger. "Matt. This is Mello. He will be your new roommate from now on. I expect you to be kind to him and to show him around this establishment. I will leave him to you know. If you have any questions, you know where to find me." He roughly flung Mello to the ground and quickly stomped out of the room. Mello hit the cold hard floor with a loud thud. He whimpered in pain as tears streamed down his face. Matt hopped out of his bed and stepped towards the blonde, making sure not too scare him. He kneeled down so he could see the boy eye to eye._

"_Ah…You'll get used to him. He usually never bugs anyone unless it's to yell at you for something. It's easy to ignore him." Matt smiled warmly as he looked into Mello's icy blue eyes. Mello's face flushed and he quickly turned his face down. Matt giggled and pulled Mello's face up, his small thumbs rubbing away the tears._

"_Don't cry. This place isn't that bad." Matt said quietly. Mello simply stared up at him, his eyes continuing to overflow with tears. How could he not cry? His entire family had just died. The family that raised him up on love and affection was snatched away from him, leaving him alone and frightened. Mello began to cry harder and he threw his gaze down, his tears spilling onto the floor. Matt stared at the boy for a second and suddenly wrapped his arms around Mello. Mello gasped with shock as Matt began to pat his back warmly._

"_It's okay. I know how you feel. This must be pretty scary huh?" Matt whispered into the boy's ear, his hands rubbing Mello's back comfortingly. "I'm here for you okay? If you want I can be your best friend and we can cry together. Does that sound good?" Matt loosened his hold on Mello so he could look at his face._

_Mello simply stared, his face free of any emotion. He figured he had no other choice than to listen to his new roommate. He nodded his head shyly. Matt instantly let out a radiant smile._

"_Okay then. It's settled. You're gonna be my best friend okay?" Matt stood up sharply, pulling Mello up with him. Mello's eyes were transfixed on the bright shining smile before him. Surprisingly, this kid made him feel a little better._

"_I'm Matt by the way. What's your name? Oh wait…Roger told me already. Man! I wish I listened!" Matt scrunched his hair as he stared apologetically at Mello._

_Mello simply stared at his hands and quietly whispered. "M-Mello. It's M-Mello."_

"_Ah Mello! That's a cool name!" Matt smiled brightly as his soft laughter filled the room._

Mello gripped the floor tightly under his fingers. His whole body shook as tears continued to fall down his face, his tears mixing with the ointment on his face. He let out a choked cry as realization hit him.

Matt was gone. His best friend would never be the same. No amount of rest or medicine would ever calm the inner monster that resided in him.


	14. The Fallen Angel's Mark

Chapter Fourteen: The Fallen Angel's Mark

Thirteen days. Thirteen long, dark, and restless days with no sight of L.

Sora was in the same spot as the last time she had seen him; in the small and dark room where she had touched him last. His blood was still stained on the walls and floors of the room. His blood was still soaked into her clothes and hair, but his presence was gone.

Sora had stayed restless for as long as possible. Eventually after the fifth day, she knew her body would either shut down or she would start to hallucinate like many of the prisoners she had captured along with L. She would only sleep for a minimum amount of time before she forced herself to wake up, and she had eaten almost nothing of the food Beyond provided her with. She just stood there, tears no longer streaming from her dead and cold eyes.

Beyond would come and check on her every day. He would bring her food and water and he would take her to use the bathroom everyday, but she never spoke a word. She was like a living skeleton.

Beyond started to get inpatient. After the thirteenth day, he snapped. When he removed the restraints he pushed her harshly up against the wall. He lifeless eyes opened wide, fear clearly presenting them. Beyond wrapped his hands around her wrists and held them both up with one of his pale hands. He then placed his other hand around her thin, blood-stained neck, squeezing hard. Sora gasped for air as she writhed under his touch. Beyond glared furiously in her direction, his blood red eyes burrowing into her grey orbs. With each gasp of air that she gained, he would crush her wrists harder.

"Now listen Sora, and listen closely. I am sick and tired of you standing around like a sad little ignorant child! If I wanted to turn you into a lifeless being, believe me I would with absolutely no hesitation, and if you continue to act like this emotionless robot, then that fate will be the one you will undoubtedly get." Beyond snarled angrily, his jaw clenched tightly. He released his grasp on her sore wrists and he threw her down harshly onto the floor, he head crashing against the hard concrete. She let out a high pitched scream as she saw her blood pool around her head. A loud ringing vibrated in her ear.

Beyond crouched down next to her head and whispered into her ear, his ghostly breath against her neck. "Good. I'm glad you got the message." He chuckled quietly.

Sora grabbed her head and screamed loudly, the pain throbbing uncontrollably. She writhed on the floor as Beyond laughed loudly, his soul shaking cackle getting past the ringing. Suddenly, Sora felt a weight on her torso. She looked down to see Beyond pressed against her, his head tweaked to the side. His crooked smile send shivers down her spine as she tried to push him off. He was much stronger than she presumed he would be. Beyond slid his hands up her body to hold down her wrists. Her attempts to break free from his grasp only drove him forward. Sora was now inches from his nightmare-inducing face, his ghostly breath caressing her face. His blood red eyes were laced with enjoyment, mischief, and a hint of lust.

"Now if Sora would behave accordingly, I may have a small surprise for her." He whispered into her ear and he straddled her so he was directly above her. Sora tried to avoid his hypnotizing gaze. Seeing this, Beyond sighed angrily and flicked out his infamous knife, the tip firmly pressed above Sora's chest.

"Look at me." He snarled, his grip strengthening on her wrists as he dragged the knife lower. A small cut was formed and blood began to spill over her chest. Sora winced and looked up at him, losing herself in his hypnotizing gaze. She trailed her eyes down to take in his whole body.

An angel. He looked like a fallen angel. A pure white shirt stained with crimson blood, the moist shirt clinging to his toned torso. The cut of the shirt revealed his exposed neck, the pale skin accentuated with droplets and smears of blood. His midnight black hair framed his pale face perfectly, small strands sticking out in oddly perfect places. His ghostly lips took the shape of a perfect smirk. His eyes captured her wandering gaze once again. He was the epitome of beautiful evil, the kind of evil that was impossible not to succumb to.

Beyond's smirk grew into a wide smile as he watched Sora. When she looked back at him, a small blush dusted her face. Beyond felt a pang of lust hit him. He leaned his face down closer, their noses barely touching. He chuckled seductively as he let his hands trail down her body to rest on her thin hips.

Sora was gone, lost in his eyes. She completely forgot about everything, everything except how this fallen angel had captured her, and how she had no intention of struggling away from his hold.

Sora slowly raised her arms up to wrap around his neck, pulling him down closer to him. Beyond's eyes widened in shock when Sora's hands entangled themselves in his hair. Their noses were now lightly touching each other as they both gazed into each other's eyes.

Love? Hatred? Resentment? Pity? No… Neither of them could name the emotion running through their bodies.

Beyond lowered his face down and pressed hip lips lightly against hers. To both of their surprise, Sora found herself hopelessly kissing him back, her pale lips moving against his. She pulled him down closer as Beyond intensified the kiss.

They closed their eyes as they were lost in their passion. Beyond let his hands roam her body, tracing a skeletal finger across her exposed neck. The cold skin caused her to gasp, giving Beyond the opportunity he was looking for. His tongue traced the outline of her lips, begging for entrance. Sora complied as their tongues met and engaged in a heated fight for dominance. Sora initially gave up and let herself succumb to the fallen angel.

Lack of oxygen was the only thing that made them pull apart. As they both gasped heavily, Beyond moaned seductively at the sight of Sora. Her usually cold grey eyes were half closed. Her hair was a complete mess. Her face was flushed as her pink and swollen lips breathed heavily. She radiated innocence and lust. She had never looked so vulnerable, not even when he made her bleed and made her scream in agony.

Sora looked up at Beyond and gasped at the sight of her fallen angel. His hair was even messier than before. The eyes that usually caused her to freeze in terror were infested with lust. His usually pale face was glistening and a prominent blush danced across his chiseled cheekbones. His pale lips were now pink and panting heavily, a small moan escaping his lips, causing Sora to shudder. She turned away from his gaze, a fierce blush evading her. She clung innocently to his bloodied shirt. Beyond let out a seductive chuckle as he cupped her face in his hands and continued to kiss her, this time more ravenously.

Both moaned at the new level of intensity that their passion engaged in. Beyond growled fiercely as Sora pressed her body against his. She clutched his shirt for dear life as Beyond moved his animalistic kissed down her neck. She whimpered at the sensation. Before Beyond came back to kiss her lips, Sora rapidly removed the dirty shirt, sliding it above his beautifully messy hair and throwing it somewhere in the room. Sora then trailed her hands across his torso, feeling how incredibly toned and perfect he was. She dug her hands into his back as Beyond traced his tongue down her neck. Beyond moaned and continued to assault her neck, biting the skin and leaving a deep red mark.

As Sora opened her eyes to see her fallen angel, she looked around the room with lust-filled eyes. Her eyes fell upon the bloodstained walls. She gasped out of terror as her memories flooded her mind.

Blood, chains, L…

She looked down and saw Beyond staring at her, his lust filled eyes watching her intently. His lips formed a perfect smirk. Sora noticed how his jet black hair was almost identical to L's hair. His lips shared a strong resemblance to L's lips. Hell, he was L's exact copy. The only difference was Beyond's lust infested red eyes.

Sora's mind then flooded with thoughts of what Beyond had done to her, the pain he had inflicted on her. She screamed and roughly kicked Beyond off of her, sending him across the room. She stared at him, panting heavily, as he groaned in pain. He sat up and stared at her, his arm wrapped around his pale torso protectively. He smirked at her and stood up slowly. He walked closer to her, grabbed his shirt, and turned around. Sora watched as the fabric slid down his skin, covering the marks she left on him. With his shirt back on, he turned around and looked at her. He smiled slightly and sighed. "Well, nothing good can last that long. Hey we should do this again sometime." He chuckled quietly and winked playfully at her. He then walked out of the room and left her in the dark.

Sora stared at the door and suddenly, tears began to pool from her eyes. She backed up into the corner of the room and curled up into a ball. She cried and cried at the thought of what happened. "L…I'm so sorry. Please don't hate me. I love you…" she kept whispering through her sobs. Her body shook with the tears as thoughts of L flooded her mind. Those thoughts were then split in half as Beyond evaded her mind, his touch and passion causing the L image to shake and diminish. Sora laid her shaking hand on her neck as she felt the mark that Beyond had left on her.

Her fallen angel had enticed her. He had captured her. He had left his mark on her.


	15. The Reaper and the Angel

_A/N: OH MY LORD IT HAS BEEN TOO LONG SINCE I UPDATED ANYTHING! About 3 months since I last updated this. I truly am sorry, I swear I am. I understand completely if you wish to impale my head on a flaming stake and roast me, I don't blame you for wishing so. However, I am back now (for good), and I will be updating my stories every two weeks. Yay~ -BloodyLawlipop_

~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~

Chapter Fifteen:

L's dark onyx eyes fluttered open, the throbbing feeling in his hand and ankle causing him to grimace with pain. He lifted his head slightly and let his vision become enveloped in the complete and utter darkness, his body completely sprawled out and strapped down to a sturdy, large table. He tried to lift the rest of his limbs, but only got so far before the surging agony of his wounds caused him to let out a strangled cry, writhing in pain in the small amount of space the restraints binding him would allow him to move in. He could feel his dried and caked on blood smothering his torso, the strong metallic smell of the blood making his nose scrunch up. His breath quickened as he felt fresh blood beginning to emerge from his lacerations caused by his struggling. L began to panic when he heard the droplets of his blood splashing on the floor. He couldn't afford to lose anymore blood.

His head snapped over to the sound of a heavy metal door being slowly opened, his eyes closing sharply at the sudden abrupt light. A dark figure sneaked into the room holding a lightless candle. The figure closed the door sharply and shakily lit the candle with a small match, allowing L to unmask the identity of the shadow. No surprise, his eyes fell upon a very disheveled looking Beyond.

Beyond was breathing heavily, his free hand lightly tracing his slightly flushed lips repeatedly. L studied the man carefully, noticing how unruly his entire appearance was despite his usual messy look. L could definitely identify a prominent blush painted on the pale man's face. Beyond set the small candle on the edge of the table and stumbled next to L, plopping down on a chair that L had failed to notice. Beyond's eyes were a dark and menacing red, the flickering of the candle illuminating his lips. Both his hands clutched his shirt tightly, his entire body shaking lightly. L couldn't tell what the hell was happening, but he was extremely concerned for his own safety. Seeing the deranged man in this state was trouble, and L remembered vividly how dangerous he could get, for he had witnessed it himself when Beyond had been in a similar state of being.

_L stared blankly at the young boy who looked identical to him. The boy's demonic red eyes glimmered dangerously as he stared up at the stern teacher who was yelling for an unknown reason. L braced himself against the wall tightly, a small lollipop occupying his mouth as he watched the scene from a safe distance._

_The young boy's small frame began to shake as the angry teacher continued ranting about how the boy had defied him once again. L noted how the small boy radiated hatred toward the man. with every acidic word the teacher hit him with, he would get closer and closer to the man._

"_Listen kid, I don't care how smart you _think _you are, or how 'special' you believe yourself to be because you're L's 'understudy', you are required to obey me at any cost, for I am your teacher and your superior. Got it? I don't want to waste my time yelling at some punk kid for disobeying me and making me look stupid!" The man yelled loudly, his voice ricocheting off the walls. Beyond simply inched closer to the man, a small and malicious smirk slowly sneaking onto his face. Without warning, the man gasped out in pain and buckled over, clutching his stomach tightly. L winced a bit at the sudden sight of the man supporting himself on the wall and Beyond's sinister smile. Beyond lowered his knee from the man's abdomen and wrapped his small hands around the struggling man's neck. the man stared down, wide eyed at the demonic smile the small child displayed._

"_Well now that we've clarified the base of the problem, let's get down to business shall we?" Beyond said with false care, his slender cold hands tightening sharply around the man's neck. The man simply gasped in shock, not able to comprehend what in fact was happening._

_Beyond let out a quiet cackle, his eyes glowing dangerously. "You know, your science class _did _teach me something, despite what you believe," he stared darkly into the terrified teacher's eyes. "If I remember correctly, which I do, this right here is the jugular vein, correct?" He spoke darkly, running the pad of his thumb over the pulsing vein. The man simply swallowed hard and stared wide eyed at the boy, too frightened to say anything. L could easily tell that Beyond's grip was strong and painful. L sucked on the sweet lollipop quietly as he watched._

"_Answer me." Beyond snarled, tightening his grip even more on the man. the man gasped and nodded his head vigorously, droplets of sweat falling from his forehead. Beyond smiles happily and relaxed his grip a bit._

"_So to kill someone using the vein, you would just have to puncture it, correct?" The man nodded again._

"_I presume a powerful and sharp bite to the area would break the skin, so to truly rupture the vein one would have to say apply a more…animalistic touch?" Beyond flashed his unordinary sharp canines at the man and snarled like some sort of rabid animal. The man let out a loud cry as he squirmed out of Beyond's vice, clutching his throat as he coughed and gagged for air._

_Beyond laughed maniacally, clutching his own stomach and doubling over with laughter. the man stared at him in horror and rapidly flung his legs and began to ran. Beyond's gaze snapped up as he called for the man. "Wait. Turn around."_

_The man froze in place and slowly faced the terrifying boy, thankful for the bit of distance he made between them. Beyond took a single step forward and spoke deeply. L was surprised by the dark tone of voice._

"_If you ever think you can talk down to me like some moronic child, I will kill you. Mark my words, I will kill you. So if you value this shameful and disgusting thing you call a 'life', it is in your best interest if you let me be. understand?" Beyond's shrill voice was laced with such acidity, even L flinched a bit. The man nodded quietly, too scared to even speak. "Oh and another thing, before you go," Beyond spoke louder. "If you tell anyone about what just transpired between us, I'll end your life even faster and more painfully." The man shivered and scampered off, leaving the small boy in the hallway all alone._

_L was astonished. He knew that Beyond was a bit evil, but he never thought he would go as far as to physically assault and threaten a teacher. he pulled the red lollipop out of his plump lips and inspected it thoroughly._

_Suddenly, L felt a cold pair of eyes upon him. He looked up and was face to face with Beyond. He wore a prominent smirk that only showed his amusement with discovering L. L didn't mutter a syllable. instead, he just stared blankly._

_Beyond giggled. "You saw that didn't you?" L just stood there, eyeing his lollipop once again. Beyond frowned and eyed the lollipop as well, licking his lips dangerously as he looked back at L. he then quickly snatched the lollipop and began to lick it himself, his long tongue wrapping around the head of the sweet delicacy. L hid inner turmoil and stifled the desire to snatch the candy back. Beyond noticed this and simply giggled again, walking off with the lollipop. L simply stared as his backup walked away, pulling out another lollipop from his jean pocket and unwrapping the sweet._

L studied the man next to him, his dark eyes locking with Beyond's crimson orbs. The two simply stared at one another for some time, until Beyond averted his gaze slowly and continued panting. L glared dangerously at him, his lips curved up in a threatening snarl.

Beyond looked at L, amusement splattering across his face. He stood up from the chair, still clutching his shirt tightly, and stared down at the now motionless L. Their eyes met once again before Beyond trailed his gaze down L's body, a smile creeping up his flushed lips. L grimaced at the heavy blush that dusted Beyond's face, the innocent gesture making the maniac look uncharacteristically humane.

"Looks like my precious Lawliet sustained a few, minor injuries." He said, his voice light and carefree.

L looked up at him with disgust. "Minor injuries, huh?" He spoke darkly. It wasn't a question, but more like an acidic statement.

Beyond sighed and eyed L's mangled and bloodied hand. There was an enormous chunk of flesh missing in the spot below his thumb and above his wrist. The sight of the bone sticking out grotesquely made Beyond's sadistic smile widen even more. L felt the man's piercing stare and he shifted his hand, feeling obviously uncomfortable.

Beyond chuckled darkly. "As breathtakingly delicious as the sight of you bleeding and fragile is, I do not like seeing my toys all mangled and broken before I get to play with them myself." He grabbed the small candle from the table and walked toward the dark corner of the room, L's eyes sharply focused on his strange behavior. L heard the opening of a small drawer and the sound of shuffling, coming to the conclusion that there was a small bureau where Beyond was. Beyond then shuffled back to the wounded man and flashed him a warm smile, holding up what seemed like a basic first aid kit. He set the candle and the dirty small box on the end of the table, L's eyes refusing to stop watching him for a mere second. The deranged man popped open the rusty lock from the first aid kit, tossing it into the perpetual darkness of the rest of the room. Beyond looked into the box and frowned. He then looked up at the ceiling and glanced down at L, his jaw line glowing in the candlelight prominently. L glared up at him questioningly, his gaze defensive. Beyond let out a small chuckle and reached up toward the darkness. L heard the pulling of a chain before his retinas began to burn.

L hissed in pain as he sharply closed his eyes, the stunningly bright fluorescent light serving as a sharp contrast to the endless night that surrounded him constantly. Beyond smiled at L's discomfort and continued rustling through the first aid kit.

"Forgive the light, sweet Lawliet, I'd rather fix you up in a nice amount of light than damage you in darkness." He spoke reassuringly. "Besides, now I can fully see your pained face I love so much!" Beyond sounded happier than a small child with a new toy.

L grimaced as he took in the now fully lit room around him. The walls were stained with a grotesque amount of blood splattered in horrific shapes. The flood was a dirtied tile smothered in the same blood as the walls. L's eyes flicked over to a wall where various chains descended from, the rusty metal shining dully in the light. L's eyes fell upon a sickeningly large rat ravenously chewing on what seemed to be an old human bone. A femur, he concluded.

Beyond smiled happily and pulled out a roll of bandages and what seemed to be a nameless bottle of ointment. L stared oddly at the bottle, the dirty and faceless bottle making him uneasy. Beyond pulled his wrist up gently and inspected L's hand once again. His red eyes skimmed over every gash and chunk that made up the hand. He looked up at L and began to shake the bottle. L watched cautiously as Beyond poured a lavish amount of ointment onto his mangled hand, hissing at the stinging sensation.

"Stop being a baby. If it stings, that means it's doing its job." Beyond cooed softly as he watched the now muddied ointment run through the wound. He then wiped off the excess with his sleeve and began to wrap L's hand with the bandages. L breathed deeply and stared intently at Beyond. Alas, the blush from Beyond's face had not ceased to appear.

"Why are you blushing?" L asked quizzically, his voice deep and dangerous.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm not really sure actually." Beyond lied through his smile, his bruised lips clearly spouting lies.

"Liar. Tell me." L demanded.

Beyond fastened the bandage around L's hand, clearly satisfied with his work. He gently placed the hand back on the table and looked at L. "No need to be so hostile. It's really nothing of your concern!" His voice was teasing and deceitful.

L's glare darkened as he noticed Beyond's bruised lips. "Your lips are bruised. What happened?"

Beyond sighed and slumped back on the chair next to L, a crazy smile lining his lips. He giggled dangerously and looked up at L. "Oh nothing bad, I assure you."

L scowled at him weakly and then averted his gaze, clearly knowing that this creature was hiding something. The two sat in silence for what seemed like ages, the only noises in the room coming from the flickering light and the squeaking rats. Beyond then looked at L and smiled.

"By the way," He dragged out his words lazily. L snapped his attention toward the man. "I had no idea Sora's lips were so…sinful." Beyond lowered his head and gazed up at L mockingly, licking his lips as he did so.

L sat up sharply and snarled loudly at Beyond. "You sick psychopath! What the hell did you do to her? Let me go right now!" His eyes were swarming with hostility and rage. The veins in his neck looked as if they would explode from his pale neck. His entire body was tense and ready to strike. Beyond simply laughed loudly as he hopped up from his chair.

"My my, Lawlipop! Such anger over something so minute! I didn't think you would be so hostile!" Beyond exploded in malevolent laughter and he took in the sight of L fighting against his restraints like a rabid animal in a cage. L kicked violently as he growled and screamed at Beyond.

"You disgusting, meaningless collection of scum! How dare you take advantage of her in such a way! You're dead, Beyond Birthday! Dead!" L's violent rampage only caused Beyond to cackle more demonically. He was now doubled over and using the wall as a support.

"What did I do to HER? I didn't do anything like _that_, Lawliet, maybe she was the one who did something to me hmm?" Beyond's cackled heightened as L stared at him in disbelief.

"LIAR! You disgusting, vile liar!" L cried ravenously, his limbs pulling against the restraints forcefully. Cuts began to for around L's wrists and ankles as the bindings gnawed their way into his flesh.

Beyond stifled his laughter as he sauntered over to L, a metallic syringe held tightly in his grip. L eyes flashed to the needle and then back at Beyond. "No. No! NO!" L howled out in agony as the tranquilizing fluids rushed out of the syringe and into his vulnerable veins. He tried so desperately to stay awake, but he had not the willpower or the ability to. Beyond slowly called his name like a mantra as he gently lay L's heavy head back on the table. Visions and memories of Sora flashed lazily in L's mind as his struggling ceased.

"Shhh…L, my dearest L. Stop being so difficult, I simply wanted to talk to you." He spoke softly in a tone one would use to calm a frightened child. "Rest now, I suppose we can talk later"

L couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe that this psychotic man would do this to the one person he loved the most in the history of human kind. L couldn't believe that he wasn't strong enough to protect Sora from it all. He couldn't believe he had gotten her in this situation. No, it wasn't that he couldn't believe it, L simply did not want to believe, for if he believed it, it would seem as he had given up. It would appear as if he had lost hope of saving Sora, seeing his beloved heirs once again, or sentencing Beyond Birthday to justice. L was not a man who gave up on anything, and the thought of him giving up on something was the only thing that had him cowering and hating himself.

"_I won't give up…Sora."_ L thought slowly as his eyes became extremely heavy. His head lulled to the side of the table as he saw Beyond open the heavy metal door once again and exiting swiftly. L could see the shine reflecting off Beyond's knife that was showing in his pocket. The door slammed shut loudly, and L's eyes closed and led him into a deep slumber.

~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~

_Soooo...I hope you liked this chapter! Please review, for the I know you truly care. 3_


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